A New Destiny For Harry
by Ryan Wynstone
Summary: Summer after year four. Starts with Harry visiting Fleur and will continue on through year five. Who will Harry end up with? Sorry, computer has been going crazy...chapter still being worked on.
1. Clarity For Harry

The people and places in this story belong to J

The people and places in this story belong to J.K. Rowling. I didn't create them and am not making money from this story. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Chapter One – Clarity for Harry

As much as he would have liked to go home with the Weasley's for the summer break, he knew that Dumbledore must have his reasons. When Harry arrived at number 4 Privet Drive he was startled to see that he already had a visitor. No, it wasn't a person, more as a message from somebody. As soon as he left the Dursley's vehicle a snowy owl landed on his shoulder and presented him with a note. He didn't recognize the owl, as far as he could remember Hedwig was one of the only snowy owls at Hogwarts.

Before Harry could thank the owl for the delivery it was already gone. This disappointed Hedwig, as she was excited to see another snowy owl. Not that it was a surprise to him or the Dursley's the letter had been for him.

The Dursley's went into the flat leaving him to deal with his trunk by himself. Uncle Vernon muttered something about wizards being a "bunch of freaks" before entering his home.

Harry unrolled the parchment and was surprised to see that it was from the Delacour family. It was from Fleur's father who wanted to thank Harry for saving Gabrielle during the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. As a sign of his gratitude he offered for Harry to spend part of his break at their estate in France. Aside from being at his home in England and going to school in Scotland he had never been anywhere else. He would have happily sent Hedwig away with an answer of yes but he thought of what Dumbledore said. Harry then scanned to the bottom of the letter and saw that Dumbledore had granted him permission to go. Harry questioning this sent Hedwig off to Dumbledore right away to see if it was true.

The next couple of days were somewhat peaceful for Harry. The Dursleys had decided to give him his distance since he appeared to be in a bad mood. It was true, Harry found that he was quite angry about what happened with Cedric Diggory. If the Dursley's had done anything to him he wouldn't know if he could control himself. Luckily, his self-misery didn't have to last that long. From downstairs Uncle Vernon's voice bellowed, "Harry get your sorry ass down here." It must have been something pretty bad for Uncle Vernon to swear at him.

Harry went downstairs to find that his Uncle Vernon did in fact look quite angry, following his eyes he soon saw what the problem was. He first saw that Hedwig was perched on somebody's shoulder who had just entered the flat. She was perched on the shoulder of Harry's headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

Sure Harry was expecting some kind of a reply to his letter, but not a personal visit. 

"Ah, Harry. So good to see that your return trip went okay."

"Er, yeah…what are you doing here?"

"You sent Hedwig with a question and I'm here to answer that question."

"You could have just sent her back with the answer, you didn't have to reply in person."

"Harry, maybe we should adjourn to someplace a little more inviting."

Harry, looking at Uncle Vernon, agreed that this probably wasn't the best place to be having a conversation.

"Come Harry, I know the perfect place for us to talk and it isn't that far of a walk."

Harry was a little confused about this but he was in no place to disagree. Dumbledore had actually come to his house, but why? Sure, Harry had a difficult year and his mortal enemy was on the loose but he was just asking if he could go visit a family for a little while. Oh well, it was a welcome sight to see any wizard…especially the most powerful wizard in the world.

They walked around the neighborhood until they stood in front of a house that Harry immediately recognized. Until a few years ago it was one of the few places the Dursley's took him. Of course, they took him there so that he wouldn't bother them during some of their more enjoyable trips. They stood in front of the home of Arabella Figg, Harry's old sitter.

Much to Harry's surprise Dumbledore walked up to the front door and knocked. "Um, professor I don't think you have the right place. You see this is…" Before Harry could finish the door had already opened.

"Albus, good to see you."

"Harry, I do believe you already know Mrs. Figg."

"Yeah I do, but how do you know her?"

"I'm an old friend of Albus Harry, he is the reason why I live here. Enough of that though, please come in."

It had been more than four years since Harry had been in the house, the first time since learning he was a wizard. Harry had never given Mrs. Figg a second thought after going to Hogwarts, but obviously he should have done so. He looked around the home and recognized several wizarding items. Among the items were a sneakoscope, some spellbooks on the shelves, and a wand on the mantle piece. 

"Mrs. Figg, what were you talking about me being the reason why you live here?"

"Why do you think you were always sent home after term ended? I'm here to protect you Harry. Now I have a question for Albus, what are you both doing here? For that matter, why are you here together?"

"Arabella, we both had a feeling that this day would come. Voldemort has risen, Harry is at a greater threat now than he was as a child. He needs to know. We will be needing you at Hogwarts in the fall, your duty here is over."

"Are you sure Harry is ready to handle the power?"

"What power? Will you two please stop talking about me like I'm not even here."

Mrs. Figg then got up and went into the kitchen to give Harry and Dumbledore some privacy.

"Harry you should know that what I did to you was for your own good."

"Professor you're scaring me."

"It is nothing to be afraid about, you have already been through so much that I would not want you to experience any more pain. No, what I am about to tell you will be for your benefit and for the benefit of thousands of wizards."

"Okay, then go ahead and tell me instead of telling me you're going to tell me."

"Harry, you are one of the greatest wizards alive. At least, you would be if I hadn't impaired your learning."

"Now you're really confusing me, I barely got away from Voldemort with my life. And what do you mean that you impaired me? I feel fine."

"Of course you feel fine. There is nothing really wrong with you. You are an average wizard of your age. The problem is that you should be a lot more powerful right now. In fact, you are most likely a more highly skilled wizard than some of the teachers at school."

"Are you joking or something professor? If I'm so powerful then why do I have to spend so long working on spells? Without Ron and Hermione I don't think I could have got through classes or the tournament."

"I'm not joking Harry, however if you want to hear a good one I can tell you about this muggle who…um, maybe another time. Harry, what do you know about what happened to you after Voldemort killed your parents?"

"I know that Hagrid found me and that Sirius showed up. He wanted to take me but Hagrid instructions from you to take me to the Dursley's. I never thought about that, how did Hagrid have instructions from you to take me to the Dursley's?"

"Hagrid didn't find you Harry, I did. I learned of Voldemort's plans too late. I arrived at the house just seconds after it collapsed. I was a close friend of your parents. So close that they only trusted me with the knowledge of your true power. There have been very few wizards like us Harry. True, there are many gifted wizards with gifted minds such as Hermione, but you belong to a group of wizards that have the ability to understand and perform magic with almost no effort. After your parents died I made a decision to make your life as normal as possible. Infused in your scar is an incantation of my own that clouded your advanced mind."

"Why would you do something like that?"

"If you would have grown up with that kind of power in the muggle world there's no telling what you could have done. You might have harmed somebody accidentally. It was for your own good."

"Why did you leave with the Dursley's? If you were so close to my parents then why couldn't I go live with you?"

"There would have been too many of Voldemort's people seeking you out. That and you would have been a celebrity among the wizarding world. With your powers along with the potential of your ego growing out of control I feared you would crave power. I decided that you should grow up with muggles, the Dursley's fit nicely."

"So, you had Hagrid bring me to the Dursley's? How would you know that Voldemort's supporters wouldn't come looking for me here?"

"Mrs. Figg. If any of the Death Eater's had discovered your location she would have been notified right away by her sneakoscope. She may not look it but Arabella was one of the finest Auror's in the ministry. I could trust her to look after you."

"Okay, I guess I can understand what you did. So, why are you telling all of this to me now?"

"Voldemort has risen, you need all of the protection you can get. When I said that there were very few like us, I meant it. As far as I know there are only three of us alive."

"Let me guess, us two and Voldemort?"

"Clever boy. With Voldemort once again loose I need you to be prepared. Even Arabella wouldn't be able to protect from Voldemort. Once I lift the cloud on your mind you will be able to protect yourself from everyone save Voldemort himself."

With these words Dumbledore went over to Harry and said a few words under his breath. At that moment a wave of clarity washed over Harry. All of the things that had brought so much difficulty to him over the last four years finally maid sense.

"You shouldn't have much trouble with many things at school now. Go ahead and try to transfigure that sofa."

With these words Harry raised his wand and turned the sofa into a perfect representation of Fang.

"This seems almost impossible. I had no idea it could be this easy."

"It could have always been this easy for you but my incantation made you a normal student. I hope you understand why I did it to you."

"I understand, with all of the times Dudley attacked me I probably would have killed him."

Dumbledore got up and went into the kitchen. A minute later he came out with Mrs. Figg and they sat down.

"Harry, Moody will not be joining us in the Fall as I'm sure you guessed, he was more on edge than I could possibly have imagined. Mrs. Figg will be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Harry was somewhat delighted. Mrs. Figg did seem to care about him but he also remembered how boring it was at her place.

"Um, your not going to be talking about cats are you?"

"Oh heavens no child. I was quite an accomplished Auror. Trust me, you won't be disappointed."

"Now about your letter to me Harry. Yes, you have my permission to the Delacour's in France. I'm also guessing that you will be wanting to visit the Weasley's?"

"Yeah, know any other places I can go?"

"Very amusing Mr. Potter. You will enjoy France, I may even be stopping in for dinner one night."

"Do you know Fleur's parents?"

"Oh, yes. I've known of their family for a while now and have become more acquainted with them more recently. Mrs. Figg will not be the only new teacher this upcoming year. Fleur will also be coming up to Hogwarts in the Fall, she will be Mrs. Figg's assistant."

"Since when did Hogwarts have assistant teachers?"

It was Mrs. Figg who replied. "I will only be there for a year while Fleur learns the ropes. After the year I will finally get to enjoy my retirement, it hasn't been easy looking after you."

"Enjoy France Harry, I look forward to seeing you again."

"Um professor, how am I supposed to get there?"

"Maybe you aren't as clever as I thought. How do you think most wizards travel?"

"I know that most wizards apparate but how am I supposed to get there?"

"Why don't you just apparate, I'm sure you will have no difficulty figuring it out."

"Don't you have to take a test and be licensed? Besides I wouldn't even know how to start doing it."

"Okay Harry, this should be very simple for you. Just picture yourself someplace or with someone. Picture your body leaving where you currently are and going to that place. Try it Harry. Try going back to the Dursley's and then returning here."

Harry pictured his room at the Dursley's. He pictured himself leaving Mrs. Figg's and going to his room. The next thing Harry knew he was standing in his bedroom. Surprised at how easy it was for him he immediately went back.

"Congratulations Mr. Potter you are now licensed." With that Harry was presented with a card that certified he was now legal to apparate. "This is a special permission case for you Harry, in case you ever need to get away from someplace undesirable."

"What about my things? I can't bring them with me when I apparate can I?"

"Unfortunately, nobody has ever successfully done that. I will give you the number of a delivery company for your needs. They are owned by the same people who run the Knight Bus."

"Well, I better send off an owl so that people know where I am. Thank you professor for all of your help. I want to get out of here as soon as possible so do you think that you could arrange my luggage for me?"

"Don't worry about it, send your owl and get to France. Enjoy yourself. After the year you had you need the rest."

"I'm off, see you in the Fall Mrs. Figg."

"Bye Harry, I hope we can get more acquainted now that you know about me."

With that, Harry returned to his room.

"Hello Hedwig, feel like a trip to the Burrow?"

Hedwig hooted and nibbled Harry's finger. He scribbled down a quick note to Ron and his family about where he would be and that Hedwig should stay with him. He also told Ron to pass along the message to Hermione. Harry then tied the note to Hedwig's leg and saw her off. After a quick goodbye to the Dursley's he disapparated.

***

Fleur was startled to see Harry appear right next to her in her room. "'Arry!"

"Oh, I am so sorry." Harry felt really embarrassed because Fleur had just exited the shower and was standing in front of Harry naked and dripping wet.

She started yelling at Harry in French, almost all of it he couldn't understand. He quickly rushed out of the room into the hallway. He looked around and saw that this was a very nice house. Either Fleur's parents were from an important wizarding family or her parents were of some importance. 

Fleur was still yelling even though Harry was out in the hallway and she was still in the bathroom. Not wanting to miss out on what Fleur was yelling about Harry recalled a spell that he had attempted when trying to figure out the clue of the golden egg.

__

Comprendio

"I can't believe he saw me naked. What the hell is he doing here? I know he was supposed to come here to visit but wouldn't he have sent an owl?"

"Woops, guess I got a little over excited." Harry meant to say this to himself but apparently he didn't.

"Harry, was that you?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't be listening in on you but I am sorry about not sending an owl."

"Harry, you're speaking French!"

"Yeah, I just did a little spell so you would feel more comfortable talking."

"That is a very complicated and dangerous spell. How did you do it?" With that Fleur came out of the bathroom wearing a terrycloth robe.

"That can wait, first let me apologize. I'm sorry, I didn't know where your place was so I focused on you when I apparated."

"Harry, you are underage. You aren't supposed to be apparating without having passed the test."

Harry showed Fleur his certification and told her about his passing the test a half-hour earlier. "How were you able to pass the test? I don't even have mine for another month."

"Um, we can talk about that later as well. Maybe you should get dressed so I don't feel so uncomfortable talking with you."

"Of course, hold on. Father! Father, Harry is here!"

At these words a rather attractive man of about forty came up the stairs. He was much taller than Harry and actually reminded him of Gildroy Lockhart. He didn't appear to have the veela blood that runs through Fleur's veins, which must have come from her mother. "'Arry, good to see you."

"Don't worry Mr. Delacour, you can speak French if you choose to do so."

"I'm impressed, Fleur didn't tell me that you could speak French. Come, Gabrielle has been wanting to see you since your bags arrived."

"My bags are already here? I just apparated, how could they already be here?"

"The Knight Delivery Service is very fast. There was also a note from Dumbledore, he will be joining us in about a month to bring you to the Weasley's."

"You're actually letting me stay for a month? That is very kind of you, I've never been away from Great Britain. I must also say that judging from this hallway you have a very nice house."

"Now it is you who is being kind. Come let us go down and see Gabrielle so Fleur can change. She has just been working on the lesson plan for the fall and got a little messy dealing with a Grindylow. Isn't that what gave you trouble at the tournament?"

"Father! If you will excuse me." She went down the hall into what was obviously her bedroom.

"Sorry you saw that. I like having fun with her. She feels bad about not saving Gabrielle but there was no harm done thanks to you. Come, let's go downstairs."

Harry and Mr. Delacour walked down a very nice spiraling staircase down into the main hallway of the home. It was even nicer on the main floor than it was upstairs. It was no wonder Fleur wasn't impressed with Hogwarts if this is where she was used to staying.

"Mr. Delacour, may I ask you what you do?"

"Sure you can, I'm an author. I have written many cookbooks in my lifetime. I have always loved to cook, when I'm in my kitchen I'm content with the world."

"So, cookbooks paid for this house?"

"Oh heavens no, this home has been passed down through my wife's family."

"Where is your wife?"

"She is out of town on family business. Her mother has come down with an illness related to her kind."

"I'm sorry to hear that, what kind of an illness to veelas get?"

"You know about Fleur's grandmother?"

"I was at the wand weighing, she mentioned that her wand contained the hair of her veela grandmother."

"Ah, of course. Anyway, it is nothing serious. It's a mental illness among veelas where they think they are no longer beautiful. My wife just went to calm her down. If you ask me, her mother is more beautiful today than she ever was."

"I didn't see you at the tournament when the families came to visit. How come you weren't there?"

Passing through the halls of the home Harry saw painting after painting of a very beautiful silver blonde woman who Harry could only assume was Fleur's grandmother. He couldn't ever guess that this woman would ever think she was ugly.

"I was on a promotional tour in Africa at the time. I felt really bad about missing the tournament but I knew she would do the best she could."

They had finally arrived in what appeared to be a very extensive library. Harry knew that Hermione would have given her left tit just to be in here for just a few hours. Harry saw that Gabrielle was in an overstuffed chair by the fire reading a book that was almost as big as her.

When she saw Harry she quickly ran over to him and gave him a big hug. Then she started talking to her father, wanting him to tell Harry thank you for saving her from the lake. Of course, Harry understood everything she said.

"Your welcome."

"You speak French?"

"Just learned a few minutes ago. Nice book." Harry saw that it was a book with many beautiful women on the cover. Wait, not women. Harry recognized them as veelas.

"I was just reading about what is happening to Grandma. She is being incredibly silly according to this book."

Mr. Delacour interrupted the conversation. "Harry, please sit. Those chairs aren't just for decoration."

They all sat around the fire and Harry told them about what happened during the tournament and about Hogwarts. He realized that he had been talking a while now, where was Fleur? It had been almost two hours since Harry and Mr. Delacour had come downstairs.

"Mr. Delacour…"

"Please, call me Jean Luc."

"Okay, Jean Luc, did something happen to Fleur?"

"No, she usually takes this long to get ready. Besides, I think she wants to impress you."

"Because I'm a student and she's a teacher?"

"Something like that. Ah, here she is."

Fleur came into the library looking very stunning. She was wearing silk pajamas of the same deep blue color as her eyes. Harry couldn't deny that Fleur was one of the most beautiful women that he had ever seen but his thoughts of Cho kept his hormones in check. It was because of her clothes that Harry realized just how late it was getting.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get ready. Harry, would you like me to show you to your room?"

"Yes, I think I probably should get some rest. It was nice to meet you Jean Luc and to see you again Gabrielle."

Gabrielle ran up and gave Harry another hug. There was no denying that she would break a lot of hearts when she was older. "I'll see you in the morning Harry." 

Mr. Delacour picked up Gabrielle. "You are going to let that boy sleep as late as he wants. No waking him up early, you hear me?"

"Yes father. Goodnight Harry." She ran up stairs almost as fast as if she were on a Firebolt.

"Goodnight to you too Gabrielle!" said Fleur. "You've already replaced me Harry, thanks."

"Er, sorry."

"I'm only kidding, let's get you situated upstairs. Coming up too father?"

"No, I'll do a little writing while I have some peace and quiet."

Both Fleur and Harry said "Goodnight" and headed upstairs.

Fleur brought Harry to a very nice bedroom, almost too nice. There was even a bathroom adjoining the bedroom. 

"I hope this is to your liking, it is our guestroom."

"This is a million times better then the cabinet."

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind, yes this is very nice. Thank you for your hospitality."

"It is our family that has to thank you, for what you did for Gabrielle."

"She would have been fine even if I didn't save her."

"But you did save her when you didn't need to, and for that we thank you." With that she gave a peck on Harry's cheek and said goodnight.

Harry didn't have a nightmare that night, in fact it was quite the opposite. Harry had a dream that involved himself, Cho, Fleur, and some whipped cream. He was glad that Jean Luc told Gabrielle not to wake Harry in the morning. Harry awoke to find that his stomach was covered in a sticky residue. He quickly got up and showered before anyone came to check on him.

Harry went downstairs to find that everyone was already awake. Gabrielle once again came over to Harry and gave him a hug. She had obviously become very attached to him. Fleur came over and tore her sister away.

"So Harry, what would you like to do after breakfast?"

"Can we see the sights? I've always wanted to see Paris."

"Unfortunately we are in the countryside and it is almost a days travel to Paris by train. If I only knew how to apparate then we could be there in no time."

"Okay, then we'll work on that."

"Really, that would be great…are you sure that you are only fifteen?"

"Fourteen, my birthday is at the end of July."

"Well, I think you are a very mature fourteen then." At these words Harry blushed.

They had a very delightful breakfast. Obviously, having a father who wrote cookbooks had its benefits. Harry had never tasted food like that before and he thought that he never would after he left here.

Harry and Fleur excused themselves and went back into the library. Before starting on Fleur apparating practice Harry told her about his conversation with Dumbledore. He figured that she would be told about it anyway when she became a teacher.

"No wonder you seemed so much more confident. So, how easy is it for you to learn a new spell."

"I would have to say that it is very easy. All I need to do pretty much is understand the theory. I've been wanting to try it out more, would you mind if I did something quick?"

"Go ahead, I would love to see the process."

Harry walked over to the shelves and found just the book he was looking for, a book on removing stains. Of course there was an ulterior motive to this. He didn't want anyone to see the stains he had left from the night before. Glancing through the pages he found the spell he was looking for and read over the process. He got up and walked over to one of the chairs in front of the fire. The night before he noticed that there was a stain on the arm of the chair.

"That has been there for years, nobody can get it out."

__

Clensio

The stain disappeared. Fleur was astonished. "I'm very impressed Harry, my father has been working on that spell for years and has never perfected it."

"Alright, I've found my career. 'Harry Potter, battler of dark forces destroyer of problematic stains."

Fleur gave a chuckle, Harry liked the laugh very much. "Okay, now can we work on me?"

"I don't think you need much work…oh, that apparating thing."

"Flattery will get you everywhere. Seriously, how do I do it? I've read everything I could in the instruction booklet but I can't get it right."

"Okay, I've never really had to teach before so I'll give it my best effort. Picture yourself where you are in your mind. Now, picture another place or with another person. Just to let you know it is a lot easier if you have been to the place before, so that is how I suggest we start. With those two images in your head, picture yourself leaving from where you are and going to where you want to be. Let's start by having you go across the room, onto your father's desk."

"I think I understand. What you say is much easier to understand than the book that they hand out."

After a few hours of Fleur having little success they did have a breakthrough. Fleur did end up on top of her father's desk, a few feet above it at least. She crashed into the desk and hurt her ankle. Harry quickly ran over to the bookshelves and scanned a medical book. He flipped through some pages and read up on any spells that might help him. Harry read about sprains, bruises, breaks, and just incase a spell that would repair a splinch. He quickly healed her bruised ankle and hoped that this would be the only accident.

They took a break for lunch and told Jean Luc and Gabrielle about their progress. Once again the food was superb. Harry couldn't help complementing Mr. Delacour throughout the entire meal. With the smile that he gave it wouldn't have surprised Harry if he didn't have some veela blood in him after all. As far as Harry could tell, the only difference between him and a veela was that he had blonde hair instead of silvery-blonde.

Harry and Fleur went back into the library and started working on the apparating again. This time Gabrielle, who wanted to see her big sister do it, joined them. It was almost like watching a child taking their first steps. However, this time the child was three years older than the parent.

After a few days Fleur had appeared to get the hang of apparating to the desk with ease. They soon worked on other parts of the room and then to other parts of the house. After a couple weeks she could do it perfectly. On the fourteenth day of Harry's visit she and Harry finally decided to go to Paris to pass her test. Fleur and Harry said their good-byes to Gabrielle and Jean Luc and disapparated.


	2. A British Wizard in Paris

Chapter Two – A British Wizard in Paris ****

Chapter Two – A British Wizard in Paris

The first thing they did in Paris was to go to apparating branch of their Ministry of Magic. Fleur passed her test without any problems. She could now travel legally to anyplace she wanted to in the world.

They walked around Paris for the rest of the day, looking at all of the sites that Harry had seen in books and on television. Everything was so wonderful that Harry didn't want to leave.

"I had a feeling that we wouldn't be able to do it all in a day. I told father to arrange rooms for us in a wizard's hotel."

Fleur and Harry arrived at the hotel just before they locked their doors for the evening. "Just made it." Said the bellhop. 

"Rooms for Fleur Delacour and Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter? Thee Harry Potter?"

"Er, yeah. I would be him."

"But Harry Potter isn't French."

Harry told him that he had learned it for the trip. It seemed to please the concierge.

"Unfortunately, we weren't able to accommodate the needs your father requested. The best we could do was to get you a room with two beds. Will this be a problem?"

It just might be for Harry. Luckily, his wet dreams had gone unnoticed at the Delacour's house but Fleur would be in the same room.

Before Harry could say anything Fleur took the key. "It won't be a problem. Come on Harry, I'm very tired."

The room was very nice and it even had some of their things there. "My father sent some things over for us. Hope you don't mind that he went through your stuff."

"No, it's fine. I'm just glad that I get to be in Paris."

Harry decided to get ready first because he didn't know how long it would take Fleur. Given her past record he would probably be asleep by the time she got out if she went first. Harry was ready for bed after a few minutes and went underneath the covers. He wished that he had looked up a spell that would prevent him from having dreams about Fleur but he liked the dreams.

Harry was already asleep by the time Fleur left the bathroom. Like always she looked very beautiful in her silk pajamas. Fleur looked at Harry as he slept. She had grown quite fond of Harry over the last couple of weeks. All of the things that he had done for her and her family had not gone unnoticed. She tried to push the thoughts of her affection for Harry out of her head. She was going to be his teacher in a few months. Besides, he was too young. Still, he was more mature than a lot of boys even at her age and he would be a great wizard someday. She told herself not to think about it and went to sleep.

Harry awoke during the night having to go to the bathroom. He did his business and went back to bed. He must have been very tired or sleepwalking because he didn't go back to his own bed. 

Fleur was startled to feel somebody's arms around her. She looked over to see that Harry was in the wrong bed. She didn't mind this at all and decided against waking Harry. It was the best sleep that she had in weeks. Being in Harry's arms made her feel comfortable. All of the worries about failing at being a teacher left her. All she wanted to do was to stay in that bed with him. She easily fell back asleep.

Harry awoke very pleased with himself. There was no sticky sensation in his pants. In fact, he didn't even wake up with the morning wood he was used to. He opened his eyes and all he could see was the color of silvery-blonde hair. He shot straight up and saw that he was not in his own bed. He must have crawled into Fleur's bed after going to the bathroom last night. He tried to sneak out of bed without being noticed but to no avail.

Fleur rolled over and saw that Harry was trying to get up as quietly as possible. "Good morning Harry."

"Fleur, I am so sorry. I must have sleepwalked or something."

"It's alright, don't worry about it."

Harry tried to change the subject. "So, what are we going to do today?"

"We've seen what the muggles of France have to offer now we'll see what the wizards have."

"Sounds great, think I'll just go pop in the shower."

"Want me to join you?"

Harry went red.

"I was kidding."

"Right, be out in a bit."

Harry couldn't believe what he had done. Wouldn't Fleur have noticed if somebody crawled into bed with her? Now she was joking with him. He should have known that she was joking. They had become good friends over the last couple of weeks, almost as close as Ron and Hermione. 

Harry quickly showered and dressed. He waited on his bed thinking about what he had done last night while Fleur got ready. After nearly falling asleep while waiting for Fleur he decided to get up and order some breakfast.

Fleur came out of the bathroom just as the breakfast was arriving. "I hope you don't mind but I was getting hungry."

"I was getting hungry too. So did you sleep well?"

"Actually, yes. I'm really sorry about last night though."

"It's alright, I slept like an angel."

"And looked like one. Sorry, couldn't resist."

"You are the little charmer aren't you?"

"I try my best."

They both smiled at each other and finished their breakfast. Harry thought that Fleur couldn't be flirting with him. They were just friends, weren't they?

They left the hotel and toured the Parisian version of Diagon Alley. Fleur had taken to walking arm in arm with Harry. He was in such a good mood that he couldn't help smiling. He decided that as a thank you for their hospitality he would buy each of the Delacours a present. For Jean Luc he purchased a set of magical measuring spoons. They were charmed to produce exact measurements of the most common ingredients in cooking. For young Gabrielle he purchased a Tawny Owl. It was elegant and beautiful as she was. Harry hoped she would like it.

"Don't worry Harry, she'll love the owl."

For Mrs. Delacour Harry decided on a very lovely necklace. The gem of the necklace was enchanted to change to the birthstone of the month each and every month. 

"You have excellent taste Harry."

"You are the only one left Fleur, what would you like?"

"You are too kind, you already helped me get through my test."

"Please, let me get you something. What would you like?"

"For us to remain close friends. I've grown quite attached to you."

"I had always planned on that. Never mind, I'll find something nice for you."

Harry walked into a shop while Fleur waited for him outside. He wasn't sure what he wanted to buy. Would it be something personal? Would she misinterpret the gift? He looked around saw nothing that he liked. It then occurred to him that he could probably just make something for her. He then thought of the perfect gift.

"What did you get me?"

"Nothing."

"You said you were going in there to get me something."

"Nothing struck me as being right for you. Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"Just down the street, I need something to help me make your gift."

"Oh, that's sweet Harry. What are you making me?"

"I'm not going to tell you quite yet. If it doesn't work then I don't want you to be too disappointed."

Harry took Fleur down the street to a vendor that Harry saw earlier. They walked into the shop and saw a small wizard bent over a piece of marble, carefully taking off bits and pieces. Fleur looked around and saw thousands of little figures of wizards, dragons, unicorns, and various other magical creatures. The figures were now staring at Harry and Fleur as they browsing over the shelves. The wizard tore herself way from the piece of marble to help the new customers.

"Welcome to Pixy's Magical Figures Shop. I'm Madame Pixy, how can I help you?" It was at that moment that Madame Pixy's eyes went up to Harry's forehead. "Oh my, it's you!"

Harry was now very used to this. "Please, I'm just a customer interested in some items."

"Of course, anything for Harry Potter. What would you like?"

"I was wondering if you can carve figures of myself and this lovely young lady next to me?"

Fleur blushed. Harry thought this made her look more lovely than usual.

"Ah, this must be your girlfriend."

"No, she is just a close friend whom I'm visiting for the summer."

"But of course. When would you like these figures?"

"That is the thing, I am only here for a short period of time so I would need it to be a rush job. Would that be a problem?"

"Well, I am quite backed up right now with some party favors I'm doing for a wedding. I may be able to make an exception if you grant me one request."

"And what would that request be?"

"Well, I was wondering if after I do your figures, could I maybe continue making figures of you for sale in my store?"

"I suppose that would be alright, just as long as Malfoy never comes to Paris I should be fine."

"Good good, I shall get started right away. Give me two days and I will make these little ones perfect. Hold on, let me get my camera."

She walked back and took several photos of Harry and Fleur. She examined them and their garments so that they would be perfect recreations of the two at that exact moment.

"What material would you like?"

"What material will look the most life like?"

"Ah Mr. Potter, any material I use will come to life in these hands."

"Very well, what would you recommend?"

"Since they will be painted I would go with durability. I recently traveled into the muggle world and discovered just the material, titanium. While they consider it almost unbreakable, I have found a way for it to bend to my every whim."

"That sounds great. Shall I return in a couple days to pick up the items?"

"Lovely, I will see you then. Will this quiet one be joining you?"

Fleur finally piped in. "I'm sorry. I have been trying to figure out what he will be doing with these figures."

"No need to apologize, I just wanted to match a voice with the lovely face I'm about to carve."

Harry and Fleur exited the shop and went back into the wizarding street. "Harry, what are you going to do with the figures of us?"

"Well I was planning on making little videos and selling them as really being us. Maybe make a little extra cash."

"Very funny Harry. What shall be do next?"

"Well, since I'm here I should probably pick up some gifts for Hermione and the Weasley's."

"You're quite found of Hermione aren't you?"

"She is a very good friend of mine. Without her Ron and I would get into all sorts of trouble, she's our voice of reason."

"I'm worried Harry, you're almost fifteen and you haven't had a girlfriend?"

"Nope. I do like girls if that is what you are worried about."

"No, I wasn't worried about that. Do you have any crushes at school or at home?" She said this as they entered a bookshop where Harry was hoping to find some gifts.

"One girl, but I don't think she'll be approachable for a while now. It was Cho Chang."

"Oh my, the girl that was Cedric's thing he would miss most?"

"Yup, and after what happened at the tournament I don't think it would be wise of me to go up and ask her out." It was at that moment, talking about Cedric and Cho that Harry realized that he had barely thought about Voldemort since coming to France.

"No, it probably wouldn't be advisable. Still, don't give up. She'll heal over time so don't think she is gone forever." Fleur was starting to feel more like an adult now instead of just a friend. She didn't really like feeling like that when she was talking with Harry. "Come on, there are some interesting looking books over there."

Harry walked around the bookstore for a few minutes. He finally came across the perfect book for Hermione. It was the English translation of _Beauxbatons A History_. Harry thought Hermione would like to read more in-depth about schools in other countries. "You are lucky that you can speak French, they probably wouldn't sell it to a Brit."

"Why not?"

"They don't really like giving out secrets to foreigners."

"Bah." Harry continued looking around and found a French cookbook for Mrs. Weasley. Sure enough, there was Fleur's dad on the cover. "Well, if she liked Lockhart then she'll love your dad."

"Thanks for reminding me that my father is ogled by thousands of women."

"No problem" Harry said jokingly. "What should I get for Ron?"

"Maybe a girlfriend would suit him too."

"Funny. Wait, just figured it out. Where would they sell Gobstones around here?"

"There is a game shop down the street. Harry, with the smell that comes out of those he will never get a girlfriend."

"I don't know, I think some girls would find that smell quite intriguing."

"Oh yes, who that stinky boy over there? I can barely hold myself back from lunging at him and ripping off his clothes."

"See, I knew you would go for it. Ron better watch out for you come September."

Harry paid for the two books and went with Fleur down the street to the game shop. He paid for the Gobstones and left.

"Who is left Harry?"

"Well, I already gave Fred and George a pretty nice present back on the train. Mr. Weasley would probably prefer something muggle so we can pick that up on our way back. That leaves Ginny. Wait, I should probably get something for Hagrid too. Oh, and Dobby did help me on the second task."

"Wait, you got help?"

"And you didn't?"

"Good point, never mind. Who's Dobby?"

"He is a House Elf at Hogwarts. I liberated him from the Malfoys a couple years ago."

"Okay, what could you possibly get for a House Elf?"

"Not sure, something will catch my eye."

"Well, what will you get for Ginny and Hagrid?"

"I already saw something for Hagrid back at Pixy's place. But first I need to figure out what to get Ginny. If you were a girl who just turned fourteen what would you want?"

"She's an only girl isn't she?"

"Yup, with six older brothers."

"Get her something feminine, she probably doesn't get that enough with a house full of boys. Might I suggest some perfume?"

"What kind of perfume do you wear? I must say that I have never smelled anything like it."

"I don't wear any perfume."

"You have to, you smell too good."

"That comes from me. Veelas give out a naturally produced smell that is intoxicating to men."

"Too bad they don't bottle that."

"What makes you say they don't? Come with me."

Fleur took Harry to a small shop down the street and purchased a bottle of veela essence. 

"Dobby, Hagrid, and Mr. Weasley." At that moment Harry looked across the street and saw the perfect gift for Dobby. In the display case was a small doll wearing a tiny tuxedo. "I can't believe it, that is the right size as far as I can tell." Harry hoped that the House Elf would like it as much as Harry thought he would.

"Okay, on to Madame Pixy's." Harry quickly went into the shop while Fleur waited for him in the street. He was out in under a minute's time.

"What did you get?"

"A figure of a Norwegian Ridgeback."

"Why would you get that?"

"Long story, shall we head out into the muggle world so I can get my last gift?"

"Of course, but we should get going soon. It is getting dark."

Harry and Fleur went into a small electronics store and picked up a radio-controlled car for Mr. Weasley. "He'll love it. Shall we go home?"

"Yes, I'm sure my father will be happy to see us." They went into an alley behind the store and disapparated.


	3. Mrs. Delacour Arrives

Chapter Three – Mrs ****

Chapter Three – Mrs. Delacour Arrives

Harry and Fleur arrived at her house shortly before bedtime. They had arrived in the library and found that Jean Luc was hunched over a roll of parchment. When they 'popped' in he wasn't startled.

"I was wondering when you two would be getting here. How was Paris?"

Fleur and Harry told them about their visit to both muggle Paris and wizard Paris. Having been there many times before this was nothing new to him. Still, he liked seeing what Harry thought about it. In some ways he had wished that he and his wife had a boy. There was no denying that his daughters were almost too cute but there had always been a longing in his heart to have a boy.

"Wait, I've been monopolizing your time. Fleur, mother is home."

"Great, Harry can finally meet her. Where is she?"

"I'll go get her and Gabrielle. Be back in a couple minutes." Jean Luc got up and left the library.

"You'll love her Harry. Just don't love her too much. Think you can keep it in your pants?"

"Don't worry, at least it would prove to you that I like girls."  


"Not funny, just remember it is my mother you will be talking to."

When Jean Luc returned with Fleur's mom and Gabrielle Harry could understand why Fleur was warning him so much about her mother, she was gorgeous. When she came in he was very glad that he was sitting down. He was also ver glad when she insisted that he needn't get up.

"Harry, I would like you to meet my wife Viviana."

"It is very nice to meet you, how is your mother?"

"Oh, as well as can be expected. It took a long time to convince her that she just as beautiful as ever. Luckily she met a man just before I left. If I couldn't convince her I'm sure he will be able to."

"I'm happy to hear that. Now that everyone is here I can give you your presents."

"Yeah, presents!" said Gabrielle.

"Please forgive her" said Jean Luc. "You should see her at Christmas. Harry, you shouldn't have got us anything."

"I agree, you brought us our Gabrielle from the bottom of the lake." Said Viviana.

"I keep telling you that she would have been fine. Besides, you have all been so good to me that I felt like I would be a bad guest if I didn't get you something." He heard a taping at the window. "Gabrielle, I believe your present has just arrived with all of the other presents."

The tawny owl that Harry purchased had already arrived. Apparently the owl was very fast considering Harry had let him loose only a couple hours ago.

"What's his name?" asked Gabrielle.

"Well, that's up to you. I would never think of naming your owl. I hope you like it."

"I love it. Thank you Harry." Growing quite used to it by now, Harry felt the little girls arms wrap around him. He would be leaving in about a week and a half and he knew that he would miss her hugs. He felt this loved at only one other place, the Weasley's. 

Harry then gave Mr. and Mrs. Delacour their presents. They both appeared to like their presents very much. She didn't want to show it but Harry could tell that Fleur was envious of the other's gifts.

"Don't worry, you'll get yours in a few days."

"Can you at least give me a hint about what it is?"

"Well, it was you who gave me the idea for the gift, I can give you that much information."

"Fine, I'll just wait."

Waiting till everyone had gone to bed Harry finally felt it was safe to stand up. Man, Viviana was a looker. Now Harry knew where Fleur and Gabrielle's looks came from. He seized the opportunity that his solitude permitted by grabbing some books off of the shelves. He didn't have the figures yet but that didn't mean that he couldn't prepare.

He grabbed a book on transfiguration, found a variation of the polyjuice potion, and a book on communication spells. With the spells and potion he would be able to complete his gift to Fleur.

"Right, this potion won't take nearly as long to make as the real polyjuice potion. I'll just have to go to a potion shop tomorrow morning. The hardest part will be keeping it from Fleur." The potion that harry was speaking of imbued inanimate objects with the personalities and mannerisms of humans.

Knowing he would have a full day of shopping and brewing ahead of him he decided that he better get to bed. Unfortunately for Harry, he didn't have a dream free evening again. Harry wasn't the only one who had erotic dreams that not, just down the hall Fleur sprang up in her bed.

"But it's Harry!" She couldn't believe it. Just yesterday she would have never imagined that she would have these feelings for Harry. It had changed the previous night when she realized just how much she liked being in his arms. But Fleur knew that any feelings she may have for Harry would not be returned. He had told her just today that he had feelings for that Cho girl. She had meals with that girl while at Hogwarts and could understand why he would like her. 

"Get over him, he's a student and you're going to be a teacher." She rolled over and went back into a fitful sleep.

Harry awoke early and disapparated back to a potions shop in Paris. He looked over the inventory for a while and then picked up the rare ingredients that he would need for the figures. He then stopped by the owl post and instructed them to deliver the ingredients to the Delacour residence. After the owl post he also decided to stop by Pixy's and see how things were going.

"You're early, I thought we agreed on tomorrow."

"We did, but I wanted to see how things were going."

"I've barely had time to work but you can see how the sculpting went for your lady friend's figure."

Harry admired the craftsmanship of the figure. He didn't think it was possible but Pixy had managed to capture all of Fleur's beauty.

"I still have to paint it and transfigure it for movement."

"You needn't bother transfiguring it. I have to do some special transfiguration spells on them to make them do what I need them to do."

"Are you sure? I am quite capable of transfiguring them."

"I'm sure you are but I will be combining that with a potion to make exact replicas of ourselves."

"Hmm, maybe you should handle that. If I don't have to do the transfiguring than you can pick them up tomorrow morning."

"Perfect. Sorry about not telling you all the details but I didn't want Fleur finding out too much about the gift."

"You care about the girl don't you?"

"Of course I do, I don't have many close friends." He said goodbye and left the shop.

Harry thought to himself that he needed to figure out how transport objects with him when apparated. It had to be possible considering people didn't show up naked when they traveled. Well, he could figure that out later. People at the house must be wondering where he is by now. 'Pop'

"Harry, where were you? I went in to wake you up but you were already gone."

"Sorry Fleur. I had to go and get some supplies for your present."

"May I ask what you got?"

"Nope, you'll just have to wait and see. Speaking of that, can you direct my to a spare cauldron?"

"What do you need a cauldron for?"

"You'll find out later. Do you have one?"

"Of course." She went into another room and came out with a small cauldron.

"Great." Harry grabbed the cauldron and dashed up to his room. He then remembered that his supplies weren't there yet. "Damn, now I really want to know how to transport objects."

He made the most of his time while waiting for the ingredients. He went back to the library and found a book that dealt with protecting persons and items. "This is really a remarkable library." Wanting to make sure that Fleur didn't ruin her surprise he put a protective spell on the room where he was staying. Hopefully she wouldn't be able to figure out how to get in there.

Fleur spent the day preparing for the coming year. She found herself pouring over books of magical creatures and curses. She didn't want to disappoint her students with a teacher that knew nothing about what they were doing. She wanted to be the kind of teacher that the students looked up to and whose classes they wanted to attend. Harry admired this about Fleur, she actually cared. 

Harry came back to reality when he heard the taping on the window of the owl. He opened up the window and grabbed the package, ingredients clutched in his hand he quickly ran up stairs. Fleur tried to see what he was holding but his years as a Seeker gave him the reflexes needed to avoid her tackle.

He started the fire and poured in the ingredients. Remarkable, he could even remember the exact amounts of ingredients and instructions. How could he do this before Dumbledore lifted the cloud? 

Harry now had some time for the potion to prepare and for the figures to be completed. It was mid-afternoon and he realized that he hadn't had any food that day. He went down to the kitchen to grab himself a snack. Assuming that Mr. Delacour was writing and Mrs. Delacour was out with Gabrielle he thought the kitchen would be vacated. To his surprise, Mr. Delacour was standing over the stove.

"Hello Harry, want something to eat."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you if you were working on something."

"I'm glad you're here actually. I was working on a new recipe for the book and I need another person's opinion."

Harry walked over to the stove and took a bite of what appeared to be a cheesecake. He felt a warm sensation go over his entire body.

"It's wonderful, what is it?"

"Butterbeer cheesecake. You really like it?"

"Who wouldn't? I would offer to take the rest off your hands but I would feel guilty of depriving the rest of the family."

"Don't bother feeling guilty. The problem with having veela blood in girls is that they think that sweets go straight to their hips."

"They're already gorgeous, why would they think that?"

"Don't ask me how veelas think. So, you really think they're gorgeous?"

"No offense, but who wouldn't?"

"Are you interested in Fleur."

"She's a good friend, and that's where I will leave it."

"Gabrielle?"

"You're joking right?"

"Of course I am. I'm going to miss you Harry. Do you know how much fun it has been having another male in the house? I don't have to worry about cooking sweets when you're here. If I would have done this a month ago I would have had three females complaining about the air turning them fat."

Harry gave a chuckle. "Don't worry, Gabrielle and Fleur won't be unattached forever."

"I just hope those boys are as nice as you."

"Thanks, it has been fun being with your family. I've only felt this comfortable at the Weasley's. Speaking of that, when is Dumbledore coming to pick me up?"

"He'll be here next Saturday. You still have to put up with us for another week and a half."

"It's not that."

"I'm kidding, here's a sandwich. Get back upstairs and work on that present."

"How did you know?"

"Please, Fleur has been asking me all day if I knew what you were making. Can you tell me what you are making?"

"Now that I know you work for the enemy, I won't tell you a thing."

Jean Luc laughed and went back to his cooking.

Harry went back to his room to on check how the potion was doing. Everything appeared to be fine with the potion so he ate his sandwich and looked out the window. Gabrielle and her mom were outside playing in the garden. They seemed so happy, Harry wished he could be happy like them. Why did Dumbledore send Sirius away?

There was a knock on the door. "Harry, I have something to tell you." It was Fleur.

Harry opened the door a crack to see what she wanted. Before he knew what was happening the door was forced open. "Where is it? Where's my gift?"

"Fleur, are you nuts?"

"No, I just can't wait for surprises." She spotted the cauldron in the corner. "What are you brewing?"

"Something to help complete the gift. You'll just have to wait till it's done."

"Fine, I'll wait. I was just getting bored without you around. Do you think you can tear yourself away from here and spend some time with me?"

"I knew it, you can't live without me."

Fleur giggled. "I'm going to miss you Harry. Are you sure you want to leave next week?"

"Yeah, I miss the Weasley's. Don't worry though, I think we'll be able to talk just as much then as we do now."

"What are you talking about?"

"Patience is a virtue that you obviously don't have."

"I prefer sins instead of virtues."

"Why Miss Delacour, do you talk to all of your students like this?"

Fleur was taken aback by this. "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable Harry."

"I was just joking around with you too Fleur."

"Ah yes, joking. So, will you go somewhere with me?"

"Sure, where do you wanna go?"

"There was someone I was instructed to meet. Dumbledore said I would benefit from a little instruction from him. He also said to bring you along."

"Weird, so where are we going?"

"That's the thing, I don't know where it is. Dumbledore said that you would be able to find him and then I should find you. Do you know somebody named Professor Lupin." Harry gave a smile. "So you do know him."

"I can't believe I never thought about it. I can find him and anyone else I want to find."

"Oh, Dumbledore also said something else. He said for you to not go looking for someone named Sirius."

"He knows me too well. Well, let's go see Lupin if Dumbledore gave us permission to see him. It will be good to see him again."

"Who is he?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher from my third year. He was a friend of my fathers. I'll find him and then you locate me. This is just like what we worked on so don't worry. I'll see you in a little bit." 'Pop'

Harry found that he was in a rather small apartment but there was nobody in sight. Lupin had to be here, Harry could feel his presence. Looking out the window he saw that he was in Paris. So, Dumbledore was still keeping tabs on him. Looking back over the room Harry saw that Fleur had just arrived.

"That was much more difficult than I expected."

"Are you all here?"

Jokingly, she looked down her blouse. "All of me that really matters."

A snicker came out of thin air.

"Harry, is there a ghost here?"

At that moment the severed head of Remus Lupin appeared in the corner of a room. "BOO!"

"What was that about?" said Harry.

"I was expecting you around now and I thought I would have a little fun with you. I thought the son of James Potter would have a little more of a sense of humor."

"You just startled us. Why do you have an invisibility cloak?"

"Dumbledore's idea. Since Snape isn't around to make me the potion I had to find an alternate means of keeping myself from harming others. I now take a strong sleeping potion and cover myself with the cloak incase somebody comes looking for me. So far it has worked just fine. Let me tell you, I feel really refreshed after those days."

Fleur looked puzzled. "What potion? What are you talking about?"

Lupin looked over at Fleur. "Sorry, I don't speak French. What did you say?"

Harry quickly went towards Lupin. "How much do you trust me?"

"Depends on what you want to do."

"If you trust me enough then I plan doing a spell on your brain."

"Why would you want to go and do a thing like that for?"

"I want to make this be as productive as possible. I want to teach you French."

"Harry, messing with minds is very complicated but if what Dumbledore told me is true then you wouldn't have much trouble now would you?"

"I already did it to myself if that is what you were wondering. As far as I can tell I'm all here."

"Very well, if it would make things go more smoothly then blast away."

__

Comprendio

"So, I can speak French now?"

Fleur interrupted. "You just did."

"Actually, I'm not sure how to focus it on one language. As far as I know it will enable you to understand and speak all languages. I hope you don't mind."

"Mind? Now maybe I can get through customs without difficulty. Thank you Harry. Okay Miss Delacour, what did you ask me?"

"Oh, I was just wondering about the potion you were talking about."

"I thought you only understood French, how did you know we were talking about a potion."

"I can speak English, I've just grown used to speaking French with Harry. Sorry about the confusion."

"That's okay. Well, if you are going to be a teacher at Hogwarts then I would guess that Dumbledore trusts you. I am a werewolf."

"Ah, then what you were talking about would make sense."

Harry realized how rude he had been. He quickly ran over and gave Lupin a hug. "It is really good to see you Remus."

"It is good to see you too Harry. I was really worried about you after what Sirius told me."

"Have you seen him? Where is he?"

"I haven't seen him, he just sent me an owl about what happened this last year. I wish I could have stayed there to protect you. As for Sirius, just know that he is fine. Dumbledore and I agree that you shouldn't go looking for him."

"Who is this Sirius that everyone keeps talking about?"

Harry answered her question. "I'll tell you in time. For now just know that he is a close friend of the people I care about."

"Not another secret Harry. Do you like tormenting me?"

Harry then told Lupin about the last year and what had happened to him after he got back to the Dursley's. Much of this Fleur was also hearing for the first time. She now understood just how special Harry was.

"How are you handling it Harry? Is there anything you want to tell me?"

"I'm fine. Since coming to France my nightmares have actually ended. It feels good to get away from all of the chaos."

"You are going to be needing all the rest you can get if what you and Dumbledore say is true." Thinking for a few minutes in silence he finally remembered that there were others in the room. "Harry, I have something for you." Lupin walked over to a chest and picked up a large package. He walked back over to Harry and handed the package to him.

Harry opened the package and immediately recognized the item inside. It was a Foe-Glass, just like the one Barty Crouch Jr. used when he was impersonating Moody.

"I thought that this may be of use to you. Do you know what it is?"

"It's a Foe-Glass. Things must be looking really grim for me if this is what I get for gifts."

"I'll get you something a little more pleasant for your birthday. Now that you have your gift I need to talk with Miss Delacour."

Harry walked over and picked up a book on werewolves that was sitting in the corner of the room. Fleur and Lupin began talking to each other about various things. Not wanting to intrude, he put a silencing charm around him. Hours passed while Harry read about the history of werewolves and various theories about the curse that afflicts those that have been bitten. 

The next thing that Harry knew he was being tapped by Fleur. Her mouth appeared to be moving but nothing was coming out. He started to talk but then he remembered the silencing charm. He performed the counter spell and all of the noise came flooding into his ears.

"Harry, I've been trying to talk with you for ages now. Couldn't you hear me?"

"Sorry, I put up a silencing charm. What's up?"

"I think we should head back, it's dinner time. Say your goodbyes and we'll head back."

Harry said goodbye to Lupin and asked about when he would see him next.

"I'm thinking I may be giving a guest lecture at Hogwarts this year. Not all werewolves are as friendly as me and I want the students to be prepared."

Fleur and Harry returned to the Delacour's home just as dinner was being served. However, rather than sitting with the rest of the family Harry ran upstairs to check on his potion. Satisfied that everything was going fine Harry returned to the dining room.

"Fleur tells me that she met one of your old teachers today. She said you seemed to know him quite well." Said Mr. Delacour.

"He was one of my father's friends from school. He had to leave at the end of my third year. I wish he would have stayed longer, it was nice having a bit of my past at school."

The family spent the rest of the meal discussing Lupin and other various things. Feeling very stuffed Harry excused himself from the table and returned to his room. His head was swimming with thoughts of Lupin, Fleur, Sirius, Fleur, Snape, and Fleur. Why couldn't he get her out of his head.

He thought about what had taken place in his room earlier. Was she flirting with him or was she just joking? Harry had another pleasant dream that night, this time Cho was no where in sight. He woke up again and had to perform the cleansing spell, almost a daily ritual now. Had his feelings for Fleur changed that much that he was pushing Cho out of his mind?

After cleaning up the mess that puberty was leaving him in the mornings he showered and got ready. As he was showering he thought that maybe he should take care of his urges manually and in a controlled environment. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before, the level of ecstasy almost made him pass out. Why had he never done this before? Maybe because the Dursley's probably would have found out and killed him. 

He quickly got dressed after his little sexual escapade with his little pal he affectionately calls 'Righty'. He checked his potion, it was ready and waiting for completion. The only ingredients missing were hairs from him and Fleur. It was early so he figured he could get one of Fleur's hairs before she woke up. 

Harry apparated in Fleur's room very early. Not wanting to make a sound he put up another silencing charm around himself. He looked at her and forgot about his task. She lay in her bed and Harry could have almost blown a load just looking at her. She was still wearing the silk pajama bottoms as usual but instead of the top she was wearing a tight white cotton tank top. The top displayed all of the curves that Fleur had been hiding with the regular pajama top. Presumably, the silk top was used for show. Remembering why he had come to her room in the first place, he plucked a hair from her head and disapparated before she could wake up.

It was still some time before Pixy's would open. Hopefully the figures would be done so he could complete the gift. Because of what he just saw and his extra time he spent a little more time with Righty. 

Madame Pixy was expecting Harry this time and was not surprised to see him. However, he did seem to have a glow this time that wasn't present yesterday. "Welcome back Mr. Potter, I think you will be pleased." She handed Harry two small figures of about six inches in height there were perfect representations of Harry and Fleur.

"They're perfect, how much do I owe you?"

"It was a labor of love, just take them. Besides, I will make more then enough money to recoup the expenses by selling the figures of you. Can I get your endorsement to prove that you have okayed them?"

"Not a problem, thank you for the little guys."

Harry signed a document that said that he approved of a limited production of figures in his likeness. Wanting to complete his gift, he thanked Madame Pixy and dissaparated back to his room, he was now ready to complete his gift to Fleur.

Taking the figures over to a small table he thought of the best process to make these figures come to life. He had studied a transfiguration book and contemplated what was the best process. He had chosen a spell that allowed him to make modifications with the potion he was brewing. Transfiguring the figures so they had movement was a relatively easy task, now he had to add the potion. Placing the hair samples in separate goblets of the potion he poured the contents over the respective figures. The combination of the transfiguration spell and the variation of the polyjuice potion made the figures into perfect representations of himself and Fleur. The figures would have all of the emotions and mannerisms of the people they represented. 

"Now to make you two talk."

Much the same way wizarding chess pieces could speak Harry enabled the small figures to speak. However, with the combination of the potion they now had the voices of their counterparts. However much these figures may have looked and acted like their counterparts they were not perfect representations. They were never meant to be replacements for when he and Fleur would part, but rather the ultimate communication devices. They did not think like humans but rather moved, acted, and spoke like humans.

To complete the task, Harry prepared a communications linkup between the two figures. Analyzing the way wizards are able to communicate through fireplaces he imbued the figures to communicate with each other. If Harry were to speak to Fleur's figure his own figure would communicate the words to the real Fleur. 

"Done, and not a moment to soon. I don't think that Fleur would be able to take the suspense much longer."

Harry picked up the small figures and places them in his pockets. They didn't seem to like being there though, especially little Fleur. He quickly took the figures out of his pocket and left the room. If he couldn't bring the figures to Fleur then he would bring Fleur to the figures. He left his room and went down the hall to the room where he had been just a few hours before.

Harry knocked on the door.

"Hello?"

"Fleur, are you awake?"

She opened the door and looked showered and ready for the day. "Of course I'm awake, and where have you been? I tried to contact you but didn't answer your door."

"Sorry, I've been working on your gift this morning and I'm pleased to say it's done."

"It's done! Can I have it."

"That's why I came down here, he didn't want to come down here with me so I thought you could bring him back."

"Him, did you get me a pet like you got Gabrielle?"

"Of course I didn't, come down and see for yourself."

Harry brought Fleur back to his room to give her a small figure of himself.

"It is adorable Harry, I love it."

"You don't even know what it does and you already love it. Do you remember what you said you initially wanted for a gift?"

"I said that I wanted us to remain friends."

"And I made you something that would enable us to do just that." Harry then took out the little figure of Fleur. "Meet your counterpart."

"Okay Harry, what do these figures do?"

"They will allow us to communicate with each other. All you have to do is to speak my name to the figure of me and it will link up to the figure of you. If the person isn't available a message will be left. That is the extent of the knowledge in these figures. Wanna try them out?"

"I'd love to, I'll go back to my room." Fleur raced back to her room eager to try out her new gift.

"Harry." said the little figure of Fleur.

"Fleur, I guess they work." Replied the figure of Harry.

"Of course they work Harry, you made them. I must say this little guy is quite the looker. I must compliment Madame Pixy the next time I see her."

"I think I got the better end of this deal though. So do you really like them?"

"Harry, he sounds and moves just like you. How did you do it?"

"Some spells and a potion mixed with some amazing figures. I'm glad you like them. Now we can talk whenever you like, just make sure take care of the little guy."

"How do we turn them off? I want to talk to you in person."

"Just say 'Goodbye'." With that word the little Fleur appeared to have gone asleep.

Fleur burst back into his room and threw her arms around Harry. "It's the best gift I've ever received."

"Your welcome Fleur. I wanted to give you something that showed you how much I care for you as a friend. I only have two other friends as close as you and I'll be seeing them in about a week."

"It's going to be hard to part with you Harry. You are the first person to get to know me beyond my looks and you actually care about me as a person. At least I have the little guy to keep me company when you're gone."

"He better not replace the original or I'll rip him apart."

"He could never replace the original. Besides, didn't Pixy say they were nearly indestructible?"

"Oh yeah. So, wanna go grab some food?"

"Well, if you would have been with the rest of the family for breakfast I'm sure you wouldn't be hungry right now."

"Would you rather you didn't have your gift yet?"

"Fine, I give in to you. We can go grab something from the kitchen."

"You give in too easily. Is there any of that cheesecake left?"

"I'm almost positive there is, let's go."

The next several days passed without any significant events. Harry and Fleur spent their time talking and playing with Gabrielle. Mr. Delacour worked on his new book while Mrs. Delacour had some plans to take care of. 

"Grandma's getting married again? I thought she just met the guy?" said Fleur

"Well, your grandmother is getting older and she says she's in love. I don't want to stop her from feeling better about herself."

This news, although startling, was very welcome around the household. Everyone seemed pleased that grandma was happy with herself once again. The wedding would be taking place in mid-August and Harry was invited.

"Harry, we insist on you coming." Said Viviana

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. I've never been to a wedding before and I doubt I will see one with a veela as a bride any time soon."

It was now only a few days before Dumbledore would be coming to pick up Harry to take him to the Burrow. He and Fleur were having a really good time together as friends. He would help her with her coming year as a teacher during the day and would work on more advanced levels of apparating at night. He had progressed so much that he was soon able to transport an object the size of his school trunk.

"Too bad you can't apparate to Hogwarts." He said to himself.

At that moment he heard a small voice come from behind him, it was Fleur. Well, not Fleur, but the figure of Fleur.

"Harry, are you awake?"

"Fleur, yeah I'm awake. Is there something you want to talk about?"

"Yes, I have to ask you about us."

"What about us?"

"Do you think that we have a future?"

"Of course we do, you are one of my best friends."

"Friends, that's what I thought."

Harry questioned what this meant but assured himself that she couldn't mean she wanted more. Why would she want a boy when she could get any man she wanted?

Fleur wanted their relationship to be something more than friendship but she knew how Harry felt about Cho. She was hoping that he would change his mind but apparently all he wanted was friendship.

"Well Harry, I better let you get back to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, goodbye."

The communication ceased and Harry now had more questions rattling in his head then he thought possible. Sure, he used to have a crush on Cho but he didn't really know much about her. He had actual feelings for Fleur as a person, it wasn't just physical attraction. Sure there was physical attraction, there was no denying that she was one of the most beautiful people he has ever seen but there was more. When he watched her prepare for the upcoming year he could see just how much she cared about her future students. How could he think she was so cold when they were in the Tri-wizard Tournament together?

The next morning Harry woke up still thinking about the conversation with Fleur. He kept replaying everything she said in his head but still couldn't come up with any answers. Maybe she was just nervous because he would be leaving to spend time with his best friends.

The last few days quickly passed and soon Dumbledore would be arriving. During his last day he and Fleur arranged to meet each other sometime during August. Then Fleur asked Harry something that he didn't expect.

"Do you think maybe I could visit when you're at the Weasley's?"

"I don't really know, space can be kind of limited. You are used to a level of quality in your amenities that I don't think the Burrow would meet. They aren't as well off as some wizarding families of their lineage."

"I don't care about that, I would be fine anywhere you are. Just as long as I can see you I would be willing to sleep in a cave."

"I'll see what the Weasley's say and then I'll let you know through the little ones."

"Have you thought about you want to call your little creations?"

"Not really, it's not like I'm planning on marketing them or anything."

"Hey, it could be a career."

"Nah, I think of them as a novelty." A sound came from downstairs that interrupted their conversation. "What was that?"

The two raced downstairs and saw what all of the commotion was about. Standing in the corner of the library was Albus Dumbledore.


	4. Return to the Burrow

As much as he would have liked to have gone home with the Weasley's for the summer break he knew that Dumbledore must have his reasons ****

Chapter Four – Return to the Burrow

"Hello all, how is everyone?"

Gabrielle was still staring at Dumbledore in total disbelief. Of course she had seen him at Hogwarts but she wasn't expecting him to appear next to her at that moment. She said hello to him and quickly ran up the stairs, Harry couldn't help noticing that she had turned scarlet.

Fleur turned to Harry and whispered, "She's had a bit of crush on him for some time."

Dumbledore was staring around the library at all of the books and even took a few to look at more closely. "He's so old and weird, how could she have a crush on him?"

Fleur was also looking at Dumbledore quizzically as well. "I don't know why she likes him, just something about him I guess."

"We can talk about this later, we shouldn't neglect the guest any longer."

They walked in to find Dumbledore perusing a potion's book. Harry glanced down at the page he was looking at and saw that it talked about love potion theories.

"Love, a great mystery that still confuses mankind after thousands of years. So, are you two done discussing about your sister's infatuation with older men?"

"You could hear us?"

"My ears are still as keen as they were a hundred years ago. Don't worry about young Gabrielle, she is at an age where she is discovering the opposite sex. If it's something about me then I can easily take care of that."

"I hope you don't mean what I think you mean because that would be sick."

"Please Ms. Delacour, I am not a dirty old man."

"I would never imply that professor but you have me confused about your meaning."

"Don't you think an offspring of a person has many of the same attributes as their ancestors?"

"Yes, but as far as I know you aren't married so how could you have offspring?"

"You forget that I have been around a lot longer than many people. I was married once but my wife met a tragic end many years ago. We did have children but they have all grown up and moved on doing their own things. That was also many years ago and as of today I believe I have nine grandchildren, five being boys."

Harry was confused. "What are you talking about? What does any of this have to do with Gabrielle?"

"I just received young Gabrielle's acceptance to Hogwarts, weren't you aware?"

"I just assumed she would go to Beauxbaton like Fleur."

"I'm sorry Harry, I thought I told you. She is going there because I'm going to be a teacher and my parents felt she would be safer now that You-Know-Who has returned."

"Fine, Gabrielle is going to Hogwarts but I'm still confused. What does any of this have to do with your grandchildren, are they coming to visit or what?"

"IN a matter of speaking Harry, my grandson Godric will be joining us at Hogwarts in the Fall."

"So, you want to hook up your grandson and my sister?"

"No, I merely stated that if she were interested in my qualities then there are other alternatives. I for one would not like to spend any time in Azkaban."

"Okay, this conversation is getting weird. Let's go tell my parents that you have arrived."

"Wonderful, I have been looking forward to your father's cooking for weeks."

After everyone was situated Harry enjoyed a meal that went beyond any he had so far. It was obvious that this send off meal was for him as well as for Dumbledore. They had a long conversation about Hogwarts and what their children would be doing at the school. It was Dumbledore who changed the conversation away from Hogwarts.

"So Harry, how is your training going?"

"Since everyone here is as close as family I guess I can discuss it. I have been able to do everything I've set my mind to. I've easily done the spells I've read about and even came up with a few things of my own."

"Such as?" Inquired Dumbledore.

"Well, I am now able to transport large objects with me when I apparate."

"Good, I was hoping you would manage that. That will make the journey easier for us. Have you accomplished anything else?"

"Yes, but I just thought of something. You're speaking French, did you perform the comprehension spell?"

"Yes, that is how I was able to speak Mermish. It has come in very handy over the years when dealing with all of the species that I've come across in my travels. Anything else?"

"I've also modified the polyjuice potion for a gift I made for Fleur."

"Really, may I ask you what you made or is that too personal?"

"How many times do I have to tell people that we are just friends!"

Fleur was a little hurt by how adamant Harry was about this point but tried not to show it.

"Relax Mr. Potter, I was only joking. So, what did you make?"

Harry and Fleur ran upstairs and brought down the figures of themselves. Harry explained all that he had done to the figures and explained their capabilities.

"I'm sure that some of your teachers would love to see these little guys, if you wouldn't mind showing them."

"That would be fine. Um, professor when were you planning on leaving?"

"Oh my the time, I told the Weasley's we would be there an hour ago. We best not keep them waiting any longer, especially in these days. We better go as quickly as possible."

"So soon?" Fleur quickly asked.

"Fleur, I'll ask the Weasley's if you can visit for a little bit. Plus, we agreed to see each other at Diagon Alley before school."

"Fine, I guess you can't stay forever. I'll contact you soon to see how things are going."

"Sounds great. Thank you all for your hospitality, I'll talk with you soon."

Fleur and Gabrielle nearly collided trying to give Harry a hug at the same time. Harry and Dumbledore went upstairs and grabbed Harry's things before heading out. 'Pop'

The Burrow hadn't changed since he was there last, it still looked like only magic was holding it up. Harry admired the house from the outside for a while happy to finally be there.

"Shall we go in or do you want to stay out here for a while longer?"

"Sorry, just taking it all in again. I'm ready."

They walked up and knocked on the door, it was Mrs. Weasley that answered. "Oh Harry, I was so worried. Not that anything bad would happen with you Headmaster but with all of that happened I just got so worried."

Ron came from behind her. "Relax Mum, he's fine."

"Hey Ron, how's it going?"

"Fine. There's something I have to tell you but it can wait till later. Hey, there's something different about you, did you do something with your hair or something?"

"My hair is just as messy as always."

"I was joking about the hair but there is really something different about you. You kind of remind me of Dumbledore now for some reason."

"You have something to tell me and I have something to tell you, I guess we're even."

Much to Harry's surprise, Hermione came from the upstairs of the Burrow.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?"

She kind of blushed at this question. "I came to visit."

Now that everyone was situated a conversation ensued far into the night. Harry told them all about France, the Delacours, and then brought out his gifts. He handed out all of his gifts until he got to Ginny's gift.

"Where's Ginny?"

"Oh, with all the excitement of your visit I guess we just forgot to tell you. Ginny is going to be studying abroad next year and has already moved in with a host family."

"Where's she studying?"

"It's called Wynstone Point, it's an American wizarding school in Salem Massachusetts."

"Why isn't she studying here?"

It was Dumbledore that answered. "It was a favor to me. One of my old friends is headmaster there and I thought Ginny would benefit from the experience."

"Well, good for her. I guess I can wait and give the present to her later. When is she coming back?"

"She'll be back for Christmas."

"Oh my, look at the time. Headmaster, we have kept you here far too long and you kids should have been in bed hours ago."

Dumbledore said his goodbyes and disapparated. Fred and George still hadn't come out of the garage. Apparently, they had been putting Harry's money to good use and were developing many new products for their joke shop. Harry could see Mrs. Weasley storming out the front door before he headed upstairs with Ron and Hermione.

"So, what did you want to tell me Ron?"

"I have a girlfriend."

"So, that is why Hermione blushed. Congratulations, but how did that happen?"

"She visited Krum at the beginning of summer and came here right afterwards. She came up and told me that she did a lot of thinking when she was gone and decided that I was what she wanted. You have no idea how relieved I am."

"I'm so happy that you two have finally given in to each others stubbornness."

"Okay, I've told you mine now you tell me yours."

Harry explained all that had happened to him this summer while he organized all of his things. Ron was very excited to hear about all of his powers, especially about the apparating. At that moment Ron noticed the little figure of Fleur.

"What's that?"

"A communications device so I can talk with Fleur."

"But it's moving around and it actually looks kind of sad."

"I made some modifications to a polyjuice potion, I guess Fleur isn't in a good mood right now."

"So, what's going on with you and Fleur? Isn't she a bit of snob?"

"She's actually quite nice, and we're just friends."

"I see, well it's late and we can talk when Hermione is around tomorrow. G'night."

"Goodnight."

The next morning Harry woke up really late and felt a longing in his heart. For some reason he really missed talking with Fleur and even an evening away from her was painful. He looked around the room and saw that Ron already went downstairs, probably to be with Hermione. He decided that it couldn't hurt to see Fleur was around.

"Fleur, are you there?"

"Harry, I was hoping you would call. How is your visit going?"

"It's going fine, we talked pretty late into the night and I just woke up."

"Have you asked if I could come and visit?"

"No, I was busy telling them about you and your family. I'll ask Mr. and Mrs. Weasley when I go down for breakfast."

"Great, so why did you call anyway?"

"I just wanted to hear your voice, I've grown quite used to it over the last few weeks."

"That's sweet Harry, you should go have some food though. I'll talk to you later."

"Later Fleur, goodbye."

The transmission ceased and Harry finally got up for the day. When he got downstairs he was greeted by a few of the Weasley's. Fred and George were already back out in the garage working on their new products. Mrs. Weasley had finally given in to their wishes when she realized that there was nothing she could do to deter them.

Percy had moved out at the end of the last school year. The vacancy that Mr. Crouch left had to be filled and Percy's determination was enough to fill it. He had beat out many wizards who had been with the department since before he was born. This did not sit well with many people at the ministry but Fudge thought that Percy was just the workaholic the department needed.

Arthur had already gone into the office and Harry noticed that the toy he purchased had also mysteriously disappeared. This made Harry happy because he knew that his gifts were appreciated.

Although the food was very good, it was nothing compared to what he was used to at the Delacour's. Even though it wasn't gourmet, it was fine enough for him. After the meal was over Harry, Hermione, and Ron excused themselves and decided to go for a walk. They walked out into the garden for a little degnoming of the garden to pass the time.

"So Harry, Ron tells me that you've been holding back at school."

"I knew you would mess it up Ron."

"What?"

"I haven't been holding back, I just never had the abilities."

"But Ron told me that you can do things that some teachers can't even accomplish."

"That's true." Harry then told Hermione what he had told Ron the night before. Ron still thought he was right about what he told Hermione but after she explained it to him a few times he finally understood.

"And you're fine with what Dumbledore did to you?" asked Ron.

"Of course I am, if you were five and had the power to obliterate someone when they ticked you off would you have the self control to restrain yourself?"

"I agree with Harry, a kid shouldn't have those kind of powers." Added Hermione.

"Well, it still would have been cool. Just think of what we could have done to Malfoy."

"I don't want to think about Malfoy or any of the Slytherins. The longer I spend away from them the happier I feel. Just thinking about their families ticks me off."

"Maybe we should change the subject Ron."

"Ask and you shall receive, look." Ron was pointing up into the sky so Harry and Hermione could see what he was talking about. Looking up they saw a large barn owl sweeping in from the north. Much to their surprise it landed on Harry's shoulder. He grabbed the note and the owl flew off back towards where it came from. Harry read the note and a smile cracked across his face.

"What does it say?" Hermione and Ron said in unison.

"A couple for a week and you're already talking alike."

"Shut up." They once again said in unison.

"You guys could entertain me for the rest of my life. Anyway, it's from Professor McGonagall."

"Why is she writing to you over the summer? You did perform magic when we aren't supposed to be performing it over the summer, is it about that?"

"Nah, I have special permission and that notice doesn't come from the school."

"Then what's it about?"

"I like keeping you two in suspense. Care to take guesses?"

"Don't make us rip it out of your hands."

"Fine, you two are no fun. I've just been made Griffindor's quidditch captain."

"You're joking right?" asked Ron.

"Nope, the note is asking whether I want the post or not. It says that everyone turned it down and said they wanted me as captain."

"Fred and George turned it down? Why wouldn't they tell me?"

"Ron, I've been here for a week and I've barely even seen them. When would they have told you about it?"

"Good point sweetie."

"Don't call me sweetie, I think pet names are demeaning."

"Whatever you say pookie."

"This is a losing battle with you isn't it?"

"Pretty much. Come on, I want to go talk with Fred and George."

The three of them went into the garage, which had been turned into a makeshift workshop for their budding careers. Ron opened the door to the garage and found himself engulfed in a cloud of smoke.

"What the hell are you two doing in here?"

"Hey Ron, working on new products. Is that Harry with you?"

"Hey guys, how are the jokes going?"

"Great Harry, want some candy?"

"Um, no."

"Damn, we gotta find some more gullible test subjects. What's your cousin up to?"

"I wouldn't know, I haven't been there for a month."

"Really? Where've you been?"

"Damn Fred, doesn't mom tell you anything?" asked Ron.

"I think she's been a little peeved with us since we got her to try our version of the Fizzing Whizbees."

"What do your versions do?"

"Well, instead of making the person levitate it actually triples their weight and makes them sink to the ground."

"I think we got the worst of it though. Since she couldn't move she just spent the time yelling at us." Said George.

"On the plus side it was a successful test of a new product." Answered Fred.

Hermione was giving them a very stern look but both Fred and George could tell that she was fighting a fit of laughter. 

"Hey Hermione, you're here too?"

"Well, if you would ever get out of the garage you would have found out that I'm dating your brother."

"I can't believe Bill never told us about…" But before George could finish his joke he could feel Ron tackling him. "Damn Ron, have you been working out?"

"Hey, it was pretty boring for the first part of summer."

"So our ickle Ronnie has a girlfriend? Before you know it our house is going to be empty." Fred then pretended to cry on George's shoulder.

"Shut up you two, we have something to ask you."

It was Harry who asked them what they had to the garage to ask. "Why didn't one of you take captain, and why did everyone nominate me?"

"Come on Harry, could you imagine the team with one of us as captain? We would fall apart without leadership. Besides, you're the only reason we've been winning at quidditch lately. We all want you to lead us on to victory." Answered George.

"To victory!" Yelled Fred. "Wood would have been really proud of that speech."

"Okay, but if everyone wanted me then why was I the last person approached?"

"Simple, captains are chosen by seniority on the team. People can always turn it down and then it goes onto the next person."

"Well, should I don't know I consider me being captain as all that great of a idea. If we lose then all the pressure is on me."

"Sucks to be you, but don't worry. You'll be a great captain Harry."

"Thanks Fred. Hey Ron, if you want to you and Hermione can go back up to the house."

"You not coming?"

"I'll be up in a sec but I have to ask the twins something."

"Fine, see you in a bit." Ron and Hermione looked eager to have a little free time together.

"Okay you two, have you been putting my money to good use?"

"Of course we have Harry, we've come up with all sorts of new stuff. We've found our career thanks to you."

"Hey, just as long as you don't play any jokes on me I'll be happy."

"Fine, but only because you've been so sweet to us."

Harry then returned back up to the house and he remembered something from the night before. "Mrs. Weasley, can I ask you something?"

"You just did dear." This made Harry laugh because it reminded him of Dumbledore.

"Fleur was wondering if she could come and visit sometime this summer?"

"The French girl you were visiting? I suppose that would be fine because of all the vacancy's we have in the house."

"Great, I'll go let her know." He grabbed Ron and Hermione from the couch and brought them upstairs with him.

"What's going on Harry?" Asked Hermione.

"I just asked Mrs. Weasley if Fleur could come and visit and she said it was alright. I was just going upstairs to tell her and since you haven't seen my little inventions in action I thought I would bring you along for the ride."

"Great, I want to see what you are capable of now. Maybe I can have at least one serious study partner."

"Hey, we're serious about studying." Said Ron.

"Yeah, I can remember all of the divination homework you put serious time into."

"That was different, even if we could see the future Trelawney wouldn't be happy unless we were dying."

They had reached Ron's room making Ron and Hermione cease their argument. Harry rushed over to the bedside table and showed Ron and Hermione the small figure of Fleur.

"I still can't believe you spent a whole month with her Harry. I would have been happy with the figure." Hermione slapped Ron. "Hey, I was only kidding pookie." She slapped him again.

"Fleur, are you there?"

"Harry, I'm here. Have you asked if I could come over?"

"Mrs. Weasley said it would be fine. Think my birthday weekend would work?"

"That sounds great Harry."

"Hey Fleur, can I ask a favor of you?"

"Sure Harry."

"Could you have Gabrielle keep my powers secret. I don't think it would be wise for people to know about me for now."

"You know she would do anything for you. Is there anything else?"

"Nope, I gotta make a quick trip in a little bit to deliver a present to America. Other than that there's nothing really new to report."

"Um Harry." Hermione was trying to remind Harry of what just happened.

"Oh yeah, I was just asked if I wanted to be quidditch captain for Gryffindor."

"Congratulations Harry!" The small figure was actually bouncing up and down.

"Wow, you look as if you're more excited then I am."

"I'm really happy for you, that's all. You remember what's going on August 15th don't you?"

"Wedding, yeah I remember. Were is it taking place?"

"Our house, but you have to come early because we have to make sure you can attend."

"Why wouldn't I be able to?"

"Not many males can withstand a veela's allure."

"Hey, I have a lot of willpower."

"You better hope so or else I have to send you home. I gotta go Harry, I'll talk with you later."

"Okay Fleur, goodbye."

The transmission ended. Hermione was staring at the figure with amazement.

"I'm very impressed Harry. How did you even think of the combination of spells and potion?"

"I don't really know, it just came to me."

"I can't wait to see what else you can do." Hermione had a strange look in her eyes.

Ron was just as confused as Harry was about her expression. "What's that you're thinking about?"

"I think I found my new project."

"I thought I was your new project." Harry actually had to restrain Hermione this time. She looked furious but Harry could tell she was laughing. Obviously she was still afraid to show affection in front of Harry.

"What do you mean I'm your new project."

"I want to see what you're capable of and that means that I'm going to be researching spells that I want to see you put to use."

"Great, maybe I should have kept it secret from you too."

The three of them spent the next couple of weeks talking about the last couple of years. Harry was having a lot of fun talking about all of the times he could remember Ron and Hermione flirting with each other. Most of the time they tried to deny it but Harry knew otherwise. There was no denying how mad Ron got when Viktor was around Hermione during their fourth year.

Hermione was coming up with ideas for what she could do for Harry. Since a majority of her free time was spent in the library she had read many more books than Harry. She was recalling spells about personal improvement when something caught Harry's attention.

"What was that you just said?"

"I said that there are spells to correct poor vision."

"What do you think?"

"I don't know Harry, I just can't picture you without your glasses."

"That's because you've never really seen me without them on, hold on." Harry took off his glasses and showed Ron and Hermione would look like without glasses.

"Fix the hair and I would do you." It wasn't Hermione that said it though.

"Very funny Ron, seriously."

"Maybe you should give it a try, but I don't think you should do it just for cosmetic appearance."

"Come on Hermione, these things have been broken so many times that I stopped keeping count. If I didn't have to worry about them then it would be much easier for me to move around."

"Move around?"

"You know, running from curses and monsters."

"Please don't think like that Harry."

"Hey, in case you weren't around for the end of the tournament Voldemort is back. I don't think he will be happy with the little bit of blood he got from me."

There was now a dead silence among the group. Harry decided to get out of there for a little bit and he knew that the new couple didn't have much alone time with him around.

"I'm going, there's something I forgot to do."

"Where are you going?"

"America." 'Pop'

He didn't go to America quite yet though. He would have felt really stupid showing up without his gift. He quickly grabbed the veela essence and began to focus on Ginny. This time though it was a lot harder to find her. He was actually a little afraid because of the higher potential of splinching when apparating over long distances. 'Pop'

He made it just fine to America. Delighted that he made it over such a large distance he forgot about his task at first. He looked out the window and realized it was still dark. Crap, he forgot about the time difference.

He did notice that he was in the right place because next to him was Ginny fast asleep in a bed. Thinking back to the last time he broke into a girls room he put up a silencing charm. Thinking about it, he felt it was probably best that Ginny wasn't awake. It would be one less person that would need to keep his powers secret and he didn't feel like explaining it to her at the moment anyway. He found some parchment and wrote a quick note before apparating back to the Burrow.

Ron and Hermione hadn't moved from where they were talking with Harry. They looked a little pissed from a few minutes earlier and Harry realized he should apologize.

"I'm sorry guys, thinking about Voldemort does that to me."

"We forgive you Harry, but you have to remember that we're here for you."

"I know you are, so you were talking about spells you read about."

***

Soon it was the weekend of Harry's birthday. Fleur was set to arrive that afternoon and Harry was really excited. He tried not to show his emotions but Ron and Hermione easily recognized the glee in his face. Before they could ask Harry about anything Fred and George had come in from the garage.

"What are you two doing in here?"

"As much as you may hate it Ron, we still do live here."

"I know, but if it weren't for mom you two would be living out in the garage."

"Fine, you caught us. We want to see the French chick."

"She's not a chick George."

"Okay Hermione, will babe suffice."

"What is with you Weasley men?"

"Uh oh Ron, are you in trouble."

"Shut up Fred."

Their conversation was interrupted with a knock on the door. However much Harry may have wanted it to be Fleur didn't really matter. Standing in the doorway was Charlie Weasley, and he didn't look too good.

It came from behind them, a blood curdling scream. "What happened to my baby?" Mrs. Weasley came storming from behind them with a worried look in her face.

"Relax mum, I'm fine."

"If you're fine then why does your arm look like that? And what are you doing here?"

"My arm looks like this because of a Norwegian Ridgeback named Norbert." Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked at each other. "I'll be fine in a little bit but until the poison clears my arm will look like this. As for your other question, I'm here because I was asked to come here."

"Who asked you to come here?"

"Dumbledore for some reason, he told me I would get more information when he comes."

"He's coming here?"

"Yup, for Harry's birthday."

From behind them came words that only Harry and Hermione understood. "What happened to his arm?" These words came in French much to the delight of Harry.

"Fleur, come with me." He grabbed her and quickly ran upstairs.

"Wow, he must have really missed her." 

"George! Don't you dare say things like that."

"Sorry mum."

It wasn't until they got upstairs that Harry felt it was all right to talk. "I want to make this simple for everyone. Mind if I mess around with your brain?"

"I know what you want to do and I'm fine with it."

__

Comprendio

"This should also help you out with teaching."

"You really think my English is that bad?"

"It's fine, but I don't want to give the Slytherins any reason to complain."

"Fine, thank you Harry. Let's go back downstairs. I want to meet everyone again."

Harry brought Fleur down and introduced her again. Everyone commented on how good her English was. Everyone agreed that they had misjudged her the first time and that she was actually a very pleasant person.

Much to Harry's pleasure, Fleur appeared to be enjoying herself. She was used to having the best of everything but it was apparent that she could do just fine with what the Weasley's had.

Hours passed and everyone was getting along fine. Mr. Weasley had finally arrived with a special guest, Albus Dumbledore. Apparently Dumbledore had business at the Ministry and agreed to come when Mr. Weasley was done.

"Now that everyone has arrived we can hand out the presents."

This is what Harry had been waiting for. Harry had been and would be experiencing a lot of firsts this summer and this birthday was no different. Most birthdays at the Dursley's went unacknowledged while more recently he was at least receiving gifts from his friends. This would be his first birthday opening gifts in front of the people who were kind enough to give them.

The first gift Harry opened was an envelope from Fred and George. Not fully trusting the gift he insisted that they open it for him. Making sure that their fingers didn't turn into worms Harry finally felt it was all right to look at the contents. Inside were papers that gave him partial ownership of the company that Fred and George had created for their novelties.

"Why does he get stock?" Asked Ron.

"We'll explain it someday."

The next gift was from the Weasley family. Opening the package Harry found a box that looked somewhat familiar to him. Opening the box Harry recognized two black balls, a red ball, and a small golden one. He had received his very own quidditch balls.

"Those are the balls from the last Quidditch World Cup. If you look closely you can see some of Krum's blood on one of the bludgers." Mr. Weasley told Harry.

"Thank you, I love them."

The next gift was a combined gift from Ron and Hermione. How cute, they bought a gift together. Their gift was a mixture of humor and beauty. It was a recreation of the universe contained within a glass sphere. Harry admired its beauty but he knew the reason it was purchased was because Hermione wanted to help him with divination.

Fleur handed the next present to Harry. "This is from me and my family."

Harry was shocked when he opened the gift. Realizing he hadn't been paying much attention to broomsticks recently kind of made him mad. In his hands he held the fastest broom in the world, the Firebolt 2.

"Wow! Thank you!"

"A captain should have the best."

"Right, captain. That reminds me of something I was thinking about. My first decision as captain is to appoint a new keeper. Ron, do you feel up to it?"

"Me? Why me?"

"You have all the makings of a great keeper. With those monkey arms of yours it will be hard for anyone to get anything past you. Besides, with my Firebolt you will be unbeatable."

"You're giving me your Firebolt? Thanks Harry."

"Well, are you up for the task?"

"Yeah!"

"Three Weasleys on the team, this should be interesting." Added Hermione.

The next package Harry easily recognized. The gift was wrapped in brown paper and there was a note on top. 

__

Dear Harry,

Hope everything is going fine. Followed my mom to Asia but am having a hard time convincing the giants to join us. Found this in my travels and thought it suited you. Ask the people around you what it is. If everything went fine then Dumbledore and Charlie will be there and they'll explain everything.

Enjoy,

Hagrid

Harry was very excited to see what all the fuss was about. He opened the package and found a small red egg with yellow spots.

"Oh no, this isn't a dragon is it?"

It was Charlie that answered. "That's a phoenix egg, you're very lucky."

"Wanna help me with it?"

"I'm on temporary leave from Romania so I'll only be able to help for a little bit of time."

Dumbledore stood up. "Charlie, may I speak with you in private?"

"Sure Headmaster." They adjourned to another room while Harry opened the next gift.

It was a small package from Remus Lupin that caught Harry's attention. Opening the gift he found a pair of glasses much like his own and a note.

__

Harry,

I'm sorry I couldn't be there but I had some things to take care of in Germany. I am very fearful of your safety and asked for Moody's help with this gift. These glasses function exactly like his magical eye and will help protect you while at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, they don't have a prescription but that shouldn't be a problem. It just means you will have to correct your vision with a spell. Hope they are usefull.

See you later,

Remus

"Wow Harry, he gave you glasses. You must be very special to him."

"Shut up Ron, I'll explain later."

Charlie and Dumbledore returned to the room and made like they had an announcement. Sure enough Charlie cleared his throat to make the announcement.

"Professor Dumbledore has just asked me to be the temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher, and I accepted."

"Where's Hagrid going to be?" Asked Harry.

"He's going to keep trying to convince the giants. Don't worry, he's fine. Now that all packaged items are done I can give you my present."

"You didn't have to get me anything Professor."

"I feel like I owe you back pay for 14 years of hellish living. My gift to you is Hogwarts."

"You're giving me the school."

"No, I'm giving you a place to live for as long as you want."

"I don't have to go back to the Dursley's? Thank you Professor!"

"Your welcome Harry, now I have something to discuss with you in private." Much like Charlie, he took Harry to another room. "I also have this for you." He held out his hand but there didn't appear to be anything in it.

"Are you giving me a five?"

"No, I'm giving you a key. Take it out of my hand."

Harry was confused but decided to humor the old man. He reached down into the man's hand and felt a key. "I believe Mr. Lupin's gift will help you if you ever lose it."

"You know about the glasses?"

"Yes, he asked me for gift ideas."

"What's it for?"

"On Hogwart's grounds there is an invisible bunker. We built it during the time of Voldemort's reign of tyranny incase he ever attacked. Very few people knew about it and it was never put to use. I have placed an old friend there to help monitor the grounds and I believe he is of special interest to you."

"Sirius?"

"Yes I'm serious."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"I know Mr. Potter, try to have a little more fun. Yes, Mr. Black will be living there and you can visit him any time you chose to do so under one condition."

"What's the condition?"

"Never go there unless you are under the invisibility cloak. I don't want anyone seeing you disappear into nothingness."

"Fine, can I bring guests?"

"Do so at your own discretion."

"Thank you Headmaster."

"Happy Birthday Harry, I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks. Remember, there is no apparating to Hogwarts."

"I know Professor, is Hogsmeade safe?"

"Yes, you can apparate there."

"Actually, I was wondering if it would be possible to ride in with the students?"

"Yes, that will be fine. If you want to you can stay here."

"Actually, I think I would rather like to stay at the Leaky Cauldron."

"That'll be fine. Well, I must be going. Enjoy the wedding and see you in a month."

"Thanks for everything, goodbye."

Albus Dumbledore left Harry in one of the happiest moods he had ever experienced. Not only did he not have to live with the Dursley's anymore but he would be with his godfather. Still, he felt that he had to have one final talk with the Dursley's to make everything right between them. That could wait though, it was his birthday and he had his three best friends for company. He went back to the celebration but decided that for the moment he wouldn't tell them about Sirius. He did tell them that he would be spending the rest of the summer at the Leaky Cauldron and that they could visit whenever the wanted.

"Good, then I can visit you again before we leave for school."

"Whatever you want Fleur, I don't think it would be a problem getting an extra room or bed."

"We can all meet there when we pick up our new school supplies." Added Hermione.

The four of them spent the rest of the weekend doing various things together. Harry and Ron practiced with their new broomsticks using the quaffle to help give Ron a feel of blocking. Harry was happy with his choice but hoped none of the other students would say he was playing favorites. By the time Fleur had to return home she was quite acquainted with Ron and Hermione. They all agreed that they would get to Platform 9 ¾ early to make sure they got a cart together. Her time was up and Fleur said her goodbyes.

"Goodbye students, I'll see you in a couple weeks."

"Goodbye Miss Delacour." They all said in unison.

"Maybe it wasn't the best idea to make friends with new students."

"Too late for that. Don't worry, we won't call you Fleur in class."

"Good, I must be professional while at school. Harry, I'll see you the fifteenth."

"I won't be late, I want to pass the test."

"I'm sure you will, you've resisted all of my feminine wiles so far."

"You've been giving them off?"

"I guess you'll find out when you come and visit. Goodbye everyone." 'Pop'

"Does she always flirt with you Harry?" Asked Hermione.

"It's just joking around."

"If you say so." Hermione was guessing that this wasn't exactly a joking relationship.

***

"Welcome back Harry." Said Viviana.

Harry was still looking at all of the decorations when he realized that he was being addressed. He had only just arrived and wasn't sure who would be around yet.

"Thanks for inviting me, the place looks great."

"You're too kind. So, ready for the test?"

"What exactly do I have to do?"

"Well, I'll introduce you to my grandmother and we'll see if you can resist her."

"Sounds easy enough."

Harry was brought to a small room that Harry didn't really pay attention to when he was visiting before. Inside the room was a veela sitting in a chair getting ready for the wedding. But this couldn't be Fleur's grandma, she couldn't be anybody's grandma. She looked like she was in her mid-thirties at most.

"Harry, this is my mother."

It was almost as if he were under the Imperius Curse again. There was one voice telling him that he should do anything for this woman if she demanded it while another voice was telling him that that didn't make sense. After a few moments of this swam through his head he had once again regained full control.

"It's nice to meet you, you look wonderful."

"Fleur found a good one dear, he can resist me at full power."

"That was the test?"

"Yes child, my name is Deserae."

"So I can go to the wedding?"

"Yes, but may I ask you a question?"

"Sure you can."

"How did you resist me?"

"It may be because I had practice resisting the Imperius Curse before. By the end I could fully resist it."

"You have a very strong will child, I would be proud to have you witness the wedding. Now, go and see if Fleur is ready."

"Okay."

Harry went upstairs to Fleur's room to check on her progress. He knocked but there was no answer. He knocked again but there was still no answer. Starting to get worried he decided it would be alright to walk in.

"Fleur, are you in here."

"Yes Harry, sorry I didn't answer the door but I was changing. I'm all dressed so you can come in now."

"You mean if I would have walked in before I could have seen you naked, damn."

"Very funny Harry, you've already seen me naked."

"Oh yeah, you'll have to give me a moment while I relive that moment."

"Don't make me smack you."

"Fine, hey guess what."

"What?"

"I passed the test, I can go to the wedding."

"Great, I was hoping you would pass."

After Fleur finished getting ready she and Harry went back downstairs and joined the rest of the guests. Harry noticed that he was one of only three men attending the wedding. The other men being Jean Luc and the groom. He could see why most normal men wouldn't survive this event with all of the veelas around. Any man who had not been trained to restrain himself would have surely gone mad. Harry enjoyed the wedding very much and wished that the after party would never end. He spent a majority of the evening being instructed how to dance by Fleur. Finally, at about midnight he decided that it would be time for him to return to the Weasley's. Fleur said goodbye to him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. 'Pop'

"Morning Harry, how was the wedding?"

"Morning Ron, it was a blast."

"Great, come downstairs and tell us all about it."

Harry finally got dressed and ventured downstairs for a late breakfast. He then told Hermione and the Weasley's all about the strange dances, weird speeches and about how the priest had to be slapped constantly to continue the ceremony. When he got to the end of his speech he told the wizards about a decision he had made.

"I've decided that I'm going to leave today."

"You're going to Diagon Alley?"

"Yeah, I'll drop off my bags and then one more stop at the Dursley's."

"Why are you going back there?"

"There's just something I have to do."

"You're not going to hurt them are you?"

"No, but there's just something I have to do there."

He grabbed all of his things and had Hedwig fly off to London. He took one last look around and said his goodbye to everybody. Assuming that he was traveling by floo powder everyone but Ron and Hermione had already left. He gave them quick hugs and disapparated.

Tom greeted him and took his bags up, Harry thanked him and quickly left. 

Privet Drive looked the same as it always did, something that probably suited the Dursley's jus fine. Harry walked up to the front door and knocked, just like a stranger would do when going up to a house for the first time. Even though he had been there almost his entire life he still felt like an alien.

"Oh, it's you." It was Vernon who answered the door. "I suppose you've come back now. We were so happy here that we were hoping you were gone for good."

"You just may have your wish." Said Harry as he pushed his way in. "I need to talk to the entire family."

Vernon was a bit startled. Why did Harry look so different? "Sure, get in the kitchen. Everyone should be there already."

Harry walked into the kitchen and Dudley gave a little squeak. "Relax Dudley, I'm here to talk."

He waited until everyone was seated before he began his speech.

"I have come here before you to tell you that you will not be seeing me anymore."

Vernon gave a little cheer.

"Wait till I'm finished. Now, as I was saying. I have been granted permission to stay at school as long as I want and I have accepted the opportunity. I would only be putting this house in danger and it wouldn't be right of me to wish any evil on you, even after all you've done to me. I feel no animosity towards you though, rather I feel appreciation. Even though you treated me like shit on the bottom of your shoe I have realized that you took me in. You could have very easily dropped me off at an orphanage but something inside you made you keep me. I don't know what it was or even if you do but I must still offer you my thanks. Have a good life Dursley's, it's been a blast."

Without even looking at their reactions he disapparated.

He spent the next few days walking around Diagon Alley contemplating his life. Why was he marked? In some ways he wished that he was born a muggle and didn't have to worry about all that was happening to him. At that point a little voice tells him he's being silly and that he should accept who he is. For the most part he agrees with the inner voice but he still does wonder what a peaceful life would be like. Then his thoughts went to Fleur.

Why couldn't he get Fleur out of his head? They were good friends and Harry didn't want to mess it up but would he regret it if he didn't at least try? Too many questions, only time will give the answers.

The time came and his friends arrived to pick up their school supplies for the next year. He had already picked up his supplies but still walked around with them to help them get their items faster. Hermione had gone home at the same time as Harry to spend the last couple of weeks with her family. He always delighted talking with her parents, it was nice being with normal muggles instead of the Dursleys. After everyone had what they came for they all said their goodbyes and left.

Fleur was the last to leave. She said that maybe she wanted to stay but Harry thought it would be best for her to help her sister get ready for school. They said goodbye and hugged each other for what seemed to Harry to be a long time. She said goodbye and reminded him that they would be meeting early the first to get good spots. Fleur then disapparated from the room.

Once again Harry was alone, but it wouldn't be for too much longer. He looked forward to the train trip at the end of the month with his three best friends. Hopefully, he would be able to figure out some of his life questions at school this year. This was the year that would change his life.


	5. The Journey to Hogwarts

September 1st came quickly for Harry and all of his belongings were soon packed ****

Chapter Five – The Journey to Hogwarts

September 1st came quickly for Harry and all of his belongings were soon packed. Hedwig was hooting softly having just returned from a journey to get her food before the long trip. Harry wasn't sure how she would handle it when the phoenix hatched. She did have a tendency to be jealous but he hoped that they would get along with each other. Harry wondered how long it takes a phoenix egg to hatch.

"Should have asked Charlie before I left."

He couldn't dwell on that for now because he had to leave. He had decided on apparating but didn't want people finding out about him. He decided that the best course of action would be to be the first person to arrive in the morning. Making sure that he had everything he surrounded all of his belongings around himself and disapparated.

This was a first for Harry, he was usually late to the Hogwarts Express and even missed it completely once. This time though he had first choice of any of the compartments on the train. Usually, he and his friends would be forced to use the compartment that was all the way in the back of the train but Harry decided he wanted something different. He hauled his trunk up the stairs and was greeted by the short witch who brings around the sweets.

"Hello child, you're really early. We're still loading on supplies but you can seat yourself if you chose to do so."

"Thanks, I have a question before you go though. What does that reserved sign mean on the front compartment?"

"Oh, that is the compartment reserved for prefects."

"Okay, thanks. I'll see you later I'm sure."

"Goodbye."

Harry would have liked to have the first compartment but decided that the second compartment would be just fine. He loaded his trunk and Hedwig and sat down. It would still be several hours before people would begin to arrive so Harry decided to explore the train. Finding that almost every compartment was the same he decided to go and see the conductor. Harry knocked on the door and a voice said it was all right to enter.

"Hello, I was just wandering around and thought I would say hi." Harry's jaw dropped a little bit when he realized who he was looking at.

"Hi there, it's nice to have people visit."

"Ernie Prang?"

"Nope, Bert Prang. It's a common mistake though as Ernie is my twin."

"Your parents named you Bert and Ernie?" Harry began to laugh.

"Why is it that people do that?"

"There's a muggle show with two puppets named Bert and Ernie. You're being named that is just kind of funny."

"What's a puppet?"

Harry tried to explain about how people crafted little creatures out of cloth and then made voices come out of them. He realized it was a losing battle and thought it best to change the subject. Harry then began to talk about his journey on the Knight Bus with Bert's brother. He also asked if Bert knew about the luggage delivery service.

"Yeah, some of our family works for them. It's a very lucrative business because people can't transport large objects when they apparate so they need the delivery service to transport their belongings."

"What do their vehicles look like?"

"Sort of like muggle planes I would say. They can go really fast and muggles have no idea they are around. We're really amazed because we've some planes they've been developing are getting closer to our design. It's amazing what they can do with technology."

"Those must be those stealth planes that Dudley used to have models for."

They then talked about various other things until Harry realized that there were voices starting to come from behind them. People were finally arriving and Harry didn't want to have people searching through his things. He had some objects that he didn't want other people seeing like the Fleur figure, Foe-Glass, and his new glasses. He said goodbye to Bert and ran back to his compartment.

He was lucky he arrived when he did because he found a rather unsavory bunch entering his compartment. Malfoy and his cronies Crabbe and Goyle were entering the compartment where Harry had his belongings. "Can I help you Malfoy?"

"Potter, what do you want?"

"Well, you seem to be entering my compartment and I was wondering if you needed something."

"Yeah, I need you to get your shit out of my compartment."

"I don't see your name on it." Crabbe and Goyle began to advance on Harry, obviously still remembering what had happened to them at the end of last year.

"Is there a problem here?" Harry was relieved to see that coming from behind the trio was his old babysitter Arabella Figg.

"No problem professor, just helping my friend here with his trunk." Said Malfoy with a cool grin on his face.

"Is that true Harry?"

"No Mrs. Figg, I mean Professor Figg. He was just misinformed about the users of this compartment."

"I see, well there are still plenty of compartments so it's no use fighting over this one."

"Alright, we'll talk later Potter." Malfoy and the goons grabbed their belongings and headed towards the back of the train.

"Thank you, a confrontation with him on the first day is the last thing I need."

"No problem Harry, mind if I join you for the trip?"

"That should be fine. Don't think me rude but I'm going back outside to meet my friends."

"Go ahead, I'm going to be monitoring the train for most of the trip. Professor Dumbledore has a feeling that this is going to be a very difficult journey."

"Well, I hope things go as smoothly as possible. Is it all right if I call you Mrs. Figg instead of Professor Figg?"

"I wouldn't dream of confusing you Harry, Mrs. Figg will be fine."

"Thanks, talk with you later."

Harry found that the once vacant platform was now very busy. He recognized many of the students and saw some new faces among the crowd. The Weasley's were late as usual and hadn't yet arrived. Scanning the crowd he found a face staring at him. He wasn't sure but the little boy appeared to be sizing him up as if he wanted to fight. This confused Harry a little but the little boy drifted out of his head when he felt arms wrap around his waist.

"Hello Harry!"

Looking down he immediately recognized the hair. "Hi Gabrielle!"

He glanced around to Fleur but the little boy's face caught his attention again. He seemed distracted by Gabrielle and some of the hate that seemed to be in his face before was now gone.

"How was your trip Gabrielle?"

"It was good, Fleur and I just arrived in London this morning."

"Where is your sister?"

"She's putting our luggage into a compartment."

"Why didn't she ask for my help?"

"When you're my sister it is really easy to get boys to help you."

"Good point, but aren't you guys going to sit with me?"

"Of course we are, we bumped into a lady and she told us you were in the second compartment."

"Must have been Mrs. Figg."

"I'm gonna go meet some other people. See you on the train Harry." She hugged him again and ran off.

A tap on the shoulder came from behind him. "Don't tell me you actually understood that." It was Cho Chang!

"Hey Cho, yeah I understood it." This reminded Harry that it would probably be in his best interest to help Gabrielle with her English later.

"I'm impressed Harry, I have to talk with you but not here and not now."

"Okay, wanna talk after the feast tonight?" He was confused, why did she want to talk with him?

"Sounds good, bye Harry."

What was that all about? She and Harry barely ever talked and after what happened to Cedric he thought she would be pissed at him. Lucky for him Hermione had just arrived.

"Harry, good news. I was named a prefect."

"You say it like you were surprised."

"Well, it's still an honor. There is one bad part about it though."

"Can't sit with Ron on the train can you?"

"Err, yes. I'll still come and visit you guys. Where are you sitting?"

"Right behind the prefect compartment. I guess it was good I got here so early."

"Wonderful, I'll see you on the train."

It was getting to be close to departure time. Harry talked with many of his old friends and was impressed with a couple of them in particular. The Creevey brothers had grown huge over the summer. Colin must be a late bloomer and Dennis and early one because they were huge. Harry was eyeing up all of the Gryffindors for potential replacements of the five quidditch members leaving after this year.

At a quarter to eleven the Weasley's finally arrived. Apparently, some of Fred and George's extra potent gobstones went off and they had to evacuate the car for a little bit. Fred and George met up with Lee Jordan and headed to the back of the train. Harry and Ron said goodbye to Mrs. Weasley and headed to Harry's compartment.

They found that Gabrielle and Fleur were already situated and that Hedwig was being friendly with Gabrielle's tawny owl.

"Have you decided on a name?"

"Napoleon."

"Why Napoleon?"

"I just like it, that's all."

"It's your choice." He then turned his attention to Fleur who was staring out the window. "Scared to talk to the students?"

"A little." Harry could tell it was something else though. He could tell that she was avoiding his face and he wasn't sure why.

She couldn't tell him the real reason why she didn't go out to talk with him after putting her and Gabrielle's belongings on the train. She had seen him outside with Cho and it hurt her. She thought things were going well with him and maybe Cho was out of the picture. From what she saw though things were not different from when he first talked about Cho.

It was kind of an awkward journey for Harry. It started out by Harry remembering that he wanted to help Gabrielle with her English. She had began to learn it from Harry over the summer but it was still very broken and it was hurting her interaction with other students. He performed his comprehension spell and she immediately ran out of the compartment wanting to meet students her own age.

Harry and Ron were busy talking about the upcoming quidditch season and new year of studies. Harry was getting worried about Fleur though, not only was she not participating in the conversation but it seemed she was doing her best to ignore it completely. Before Harry could ask her about what was bothering her Mrs. Figg had returned.

"Hello everyone."

Fleur seemed to come out of her stupor. "Hello professor, how are the students."

"Well, as Dumbledore expected things are a bit unruly."

"Do you need my help?"

"That is actually why I came up here. The Slytherin students appear to be a bit overanxious about the house rivalries and several fights have broke out. All you need to do is to make sure that there aren't any confrontations and we should make it to Hogwarts just fine."

"Sounds good." Fleur got up and joined Mrs. Figg in her patrol of the train.

Harry was a little hurt that she so eagerly wanted to help with the patrol. Even though she wasn't actually acknowledging his existence on the train it was still nice to have her around.

Several students came up and visited with Ron and Harry. Fred and George were happy that the Weasley legacy of quidditch players would live on after the end of the year. Angelina, Katie, and Alicia all came up and welcomed Ron to team and congratulated Harry on becoming captain.

"The only reason I'm captain is because you all turned it down."

"You deserve it Harry, besides we're all gone after this year and you have almost as much experience as us."

The gave him a playful salute and left the compartment. He and Ron spent the next hour or so in peace before Hermione finally came back.

"Sorry guys, just talking with the prefects."

"We were aware Hermione, it's not like we are mad at you for not sitting with us. You being a prefect just means we can't take you with us anymore during our adventures." Said Harry.

"What?!"

"Just kidding, I just hope you don't go reporting us every time we break a rule."

"Just be safe and I won't have to bust you."

Harry noticed that she and Ron were sitting a little ways apart, not a typical couple way of sitting. They still felt awkward in front of him.

"You guys don't have to hide anything. Just because I'm here doesn't mean you can't hold hands or anything."

They both laughed. "We didn't know how you would react to it."

"Just don't make out in front of me and I think you'll be fine."

"Okay." After the initial weirdness the couple began to settle into their normally private routine. Hermione and Ron soon fell asleep in each other's arms. Not wanting to disturb them Harry decided to get up and stretch his legs. Making sure that no Slytherin's were heading for the compartment he felt that he could let them sleep in peace.

He had never really walked around the train over the last few years. He mostly just stuck to the one compartment and let other people come to him. For the most part he did this because of who he was. He didn't want to seek out people just to have them stare at his forehead, but he felt that he had been at Hogwarts long enough so it would be okay.

He met up with his other roommates and caught up with them about their summer. Not much had changed for Neville, Dean, and Seamus. He warned them about his new wall hanging and told them not to worry about it. Next, he moved onto compartments of the other houses but making sure not to go into the Slytherin ones. He got to know some of the other students. He knew the Hufflepuffs from his year because of their classes but he never had classes with Ravenclaws. Griffindors never really interacted with Ravenclaws and he was sorry that they weren't. He found that the Ravenclaws were a very cheerful bunch and they reminded him of Hermione. Why hadn't she been sorted into the house full of bookworms?

About halfway down the train he bumped into Fleur. She seemed distracted and said that she couldn't talk at the moment as a fight had just broke out further down the train. Why was she ignoring him? He felt a little down and decided that instead of going down the rest of the train he would just head back to his compartment.

Harry opened the door and gave a little yelp. "Oh, I am so sorry." Ron and Hermione had seized the opportunity of the compartments vacancy and were making out.

"Harry!" Hermione yelped.

"Harry, good to see you." Harry could easily recognize the sarcasm in Ron's voice.

"Sorry guys. I'll, um, let you straighten up." Harry was acknowledging the state of both his friend's appearances.

Harry, feeling really embarrassed, decided to go up to the conductor's compartment and see how much longer they had. As short of a trip as it may have been, Harry never made it to the conductor's compartment. He was grabbed by a couple of hands and forced into the train's kitchen.

"What they hell is going on?" Harry yelled.

"Sorry, I just couldn't wait till school." It was Cho!

"Cho, what's this all about?"

"Harry, I want to talk about us. I wanted to thank you for bringing back Cedric's body. I spent some time with his parents this summer and what you did really meant a lot to them. Being with Cedric's parents got me thinking about you. I really did care about him and I'm going to miss him a lot."

"Uh, Cho? Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm telling you this because I thought it through and I want to give us a try. I realized that Cedric is gone and there is no way he's coming back. You are a remarkable person and I want to get to know you."

"You wanna go out with me?"

"Pretty much, yes."

"I don't know what to say."

"Just say that you'll meet me on Friday."

"Okay, I'll meet you on Friday."  


"Great!" She hugged him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. She then entered the prefect's compartment.

Harry completely forgot about going to see Bert. Cho wanted to go on a date with him. This had been what he had been thinking about for the last two years and he felt ecstatic. Did he feel ecstatic? Yes, of course he did. Fleur would never work out and he knew it. 

At that moment the train started to slow down, they had reached Hogsmeade Station. Harry slowly entered his compartment, making sure that Ron and Hermione still had their clothes on.

"Good, you're still dressed."

"Very funny Harry, don't make me bitch-slap you."

"Hermione! I thought a prefect wouldn't use such language."

"Hey, touch the wrong button and I'm liable to go off." All three of them laughed.

When the train came to a complete stop Gabrielle, Fleur, and Mrs. Figg all returned for the baggage. Everyone quickly got off the train and entered their horse-less carriages. Gabrielle was ushered off to the boats like all the first year students. This year was different though, instead of Hagrid bringing the students over the lake it would be Charlie Weasley.

When Harry got off the carriage he expected to go up into the Great Hall with the rest of the students, but he would be missing yet another Sorting Ceremony. Once again, Minerva McGonagall brought him to a separate room and he wouldn't be seeing which house Gabrielle would be joining. He hoped that she would be in Gryffindor but he had a feeling she would become a Ravenclaw.

"Hello Mr. Potter, how was your trip?"

"Good, same as usual."

"You didn't have any problems with any of the other students?"

"No, things were the same as always. Of course, Malfoy and I usually have words with each other."

"That's what I wanted to talk about. The Headmaster tells me that you have acquired some new skills and us teachers would like to test just what you are capable of."

"What does that have to do with Malfoy?"

"Well, there is a possibility that this year could be a little difficult for you. Albus, I mean the Headmaster and myself agree that it would probably be in your best interest not to attend classes this year."

"What do you mean? I have to attend classes."

"You still have to do your coursework but that doesn't mean you can't do something else instead of class."

"I'm not following you."

"We were hoping that you would be able to do a work study of sorts. If what the Headmaster says is true then you should be able to pass out of the regular coursework and work with us teachers in our own studies."

"Work on what studies?"

"You don't honestly think that all spells and potions have been discovered do you? Of course you don't, from what Dumbledore tells me you have come up with a few of your own."

"Good point. I don't have to do it with all of my classes do I?"

"You don't have to do it with any of them if you chose so."

"I don't mind doing it but I think I would go mad if I didn't have some contact with people my age."

"I think we would be fine with that. There is one class that we insist you do a private study for, Potions."

"Me and Snape alone together, you insist on that?"

"You seem to get in the most trouble when you're around Mr. Malfoy and we feel this is for the best."

"Snape thinks it's best that it's just the two of us together? We'll kill each other."

"Actually, he is dead set against it. Dumbledore had to force him into agreeing to his terms. But, you'll have to pass his test in order to get his approval."

"Any other classes you think it would be wise to do?"

"Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Divination."

"I can understand the others but why divination?"

"Actually, that is just my recommendation. Why do you insist on putting yourself through Trelawney's drivel?"

"I mostly do it for Ron, he'd kill me if I ditched him in that class."

"Have you and Mr. Weasley ever considered just dropping it for something else?"

"I never gave it much thought, but I suppose I wouldn't mind leaving the class for something else."

"Well, as a favor to me could you please try and talk him out of that class. I'm sure that as a person who grew up in a wizarding family he would benefit from taking Muggle Studies."

"Yeah, Ron has no clue when it comes to the muggle world. I'll do my best. So, that just leaves me with Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures."

"Those classes really benefit from first hand experience and it should be fine if you continue those classes with the other Gryffindor's."

"Good, at least I won't be missing Charlie's class."

"Well, it's getting late and the Sorting Ceremony will be ending soon. Before you go can I just ask one favor. The Headmaster told me about your little communications devices and I was wondering if I could see them?"

Harry showed her the little Fleur that was in his pocket. It finally accepted this as a mode of transport.

"Very good Mr. Potter, a nice combination of charms, transfiguration, and potions. Okay, you can head up to the tower now."

"What about the password?"

"Oh, it's blast-ended skrewt."

"Thanks, when will I take the tests to pass out of the classes?"

"Monday, we will give you some time to prepare for our tests. Practice well and you will do fine. Have a good evening."

Harry made his way up to the Fat Lady and entered the portrait hole. He had a date to look forward to on Friday and tests on Monday. Was it always this busy for him?


	6. The First Week

The common room was already beginning to empty as Harry entered the portrait ****

Chapter Six – The First Week

The common room was already beginning to empty as Harry entered the portrait. For many people it had been a very nerve racking trip, dealing with what appeared to be an aggravated Slytherin House. Harry couldn't help but feel that this was largely due to the Dark Lord's rise. They obviously felt that the power had once again shifted in their direction and Harry realized just why Dumbledore didn't want him in classes. Being the main enemy of the Dark Lord would also mean being the main enemy of his followers.

Harry caught up with a few people that he missed talking to on the train and was about to head up to bed when he caught a couple of eyes staring at him. It was that boy from the train station, he was in the common room. This must mean that he was sorted into Gryffindor, but usually only Slytherin's looked at him like that. He tried to push the kid out of his mind, it was late and he would be spending the next week in the library studying for his upcoming tests.

He finally made it to the room and upon entering immediately recognized the sound of Neville's snoring. Dean and Seamus were also already in bed and appeared to be sleeping, but Ron was wide-awake.

"Where did you go?"

"Had to talk with McGonagall, we can talk about it at breakfast."

"Okay, if it can wait then I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Harry still had something to do before he went to bed. He immediately went to his trunk and brought out his Foe-Glass. Hanging it up on the wall, shadows began to fill the frame. In fact, there were so many shadows that Harry was a little startled.

"I guess they really do have it in for me. If the time every comes though I'll be prepared."

Harry also brought out his Phoenix egg and the little Fleur. Harry was about to take off his glasses before going to bed but something caught his eye. Was it his imagination or was the little Fleur crying? He would have to ask her what this was all about tomorrow. He was finally home, and he did mean home. Hopefully, he would see Sirius soon and all would well in his life.

By the time Harry woke up in the morning the sun had already risen. He scrambled for his glasses so he could look at the time. "Damn!" Breakfast would be over in a few minutes and he was really hungry, he realized that he hadn't had anything to eat since the train yesterday. Why did he forget to ask McGonagall for food last night?

He quickly threw on his robes and made his way down to the Great Hall. Most people had already left and were heading to their first class. Looking up the Gryffindor table he quickly spotted Ron's flaming red hair. He ran over and sat down next to him. He made a mad grab for sausages and toast.

"Where have you been, I was about to come up and get you."

"Over slept, what's our first class?"

"Herbology, same as usual."

"Is this the same schedule as last year?"

"Yeah, first Herbology, then Care of Magical Creatures, and then double Divination."

"Ron, about the Divination. I think we should drop it."

"What else are we going to do?"

"I'm not sure about what I'm going to do but I think you should go into Muggle Studies with Hermione."

"How come you're not going to do it?"

"I don't think it would help me much and I'm not going to have much time with Quidditch and my private studies."

Hermione nearly choked on her toast. "What private studies?"

Harry then explained all that he and McGonagall discussed rather quickly. Just as he was finishing his story it was time to head out to the greenhouses. In all the confusion with sleeping in he completely forgot about Fleur. Oh well, he was sure he would see her sooner or later.

As Harry, Ron, and Hermione were leaving the Great Hall Charlie Weasley grabbed Harry by the arm. "Harry, I have a favor to ask you."

"Sure Charlie, what do you need?"

"Could you bring the Phoenix egg down with you to class?"

"Yeah, that should be fine. Is it okay if I'm a little late?"

"I'll be introducing myself to the class at the beginning so that should be fine."

"See you later Charlie."

"Thanks Harry, see you later."

The trio finally arrived at the greenhouse and Harry saw that many of the Hufflepuffs had black eyes and bruises. They must have been the main targets of the Slytherins on the train. Even though they didn't look that well physically Harry could also tell that they weren't all together mentally. The loss of their House Champion still seemed to be affecting them.

During the class Professor Sprout used the Hufflepuffs injuries as a teaching aid. The class time was spent finding the right herbs for healing bruises and lacerations. By the end of class the students all appeared to be in perfect health. Harry hoped that the entire year wouldn't be spent finding the right healing plants, what was with the Slytherins?

After the class ended Ron and Hermione headed down to Hagrid's hut for the next class while Harry quickly made his way up to the stairs of Hogwarts. He had made it up to the main door when recognized a laugh that made him wince, Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins were making their way down to class.

"Well if it isn't the great hero Harry Potter. I've been told that you're the new Quidditch captain for Gryffindor. Guess what? You're not the only new captain. Crabbe and Goyle will be helping me tear you apart this year, get used to feeling pain because it'll be the only thing you feel for the rest of the year. Give him a sample boys."

Crabbe and Goyle began to advance on Harry but luckily they didn't get very far. 

"What's going on here?"

If it had been any other voice Harry would have been ecstatic. Unfortunately for Harry the voice belonged to Snape. 

"I was just telling Potter here about my being appointed captain."

"Well, you've told him now get to class." Malfoy and the others looked a little confused but dismissed it and went down Hagrid's shack. Harry turned towards the school but was stopped.

"I believe your class is that way Mr. Potter."

"I'm getting something for Professor Weasley."

"Professor Weasley? I never thought I would see the day when a Weasley would be looked up to."

"Can I go please?"

"In a second, so you fancy yourself a potions expert Mr. Potter?"

"I don't fancy myself an expert in anything."

"And you never will be an expert in anything. I don't care what Dumbledore says, there is no way you are passing my test. See you on Monday." Snape swished his cloak and turned back into the castle. Harry waited for a second until he was sure Snape was gone.

He was now really late for class and he didn't even have the egg. He hoped Charlie would be fine entertaining the class while he got the egg. He rushed up to the tower as quickly as he could and grabbed the egg. Harry liked the feeling of the egg in his hands, it gave off a small amount of heat and seemed to give the feeling of warmth that butterbear gave. It was now ten minutes into class and Harry knew that no introduction would take this long.

By the time Harry got down to the cabin it was really late, but things appeared to be going well with the class. Standing in front of the class was Charlie and Professor Dumbledore. Harry was a little confused about why Dumbledore was there at first but then he saw that on a pole between them was perched Fawkes. So, that's why he wanted the egg.

"Ah good, our egg has arrived."

Harry felt a little embarrassed showing up so late to class and now he had to go in front of everyone. 

"Harry, I was wondering if you would be able to help with a demonstration?"

"Sure, what do you need?"

"I need you to call to Fawkes."

"Why?"

"Trust me, just do it." Harry was a little confused but he did as he was told. Fawkes immediately came over and landed on Harry's shoulder.

"Okay, now what?"

"Now nothing, you did what I wanted you do."

"All I did was call Fawkes over, what's so special about that?"

"I'll show you, Mr. Malfoy could you join Harry up here."

Malfoy reluctantly got up and walked to the front of the class. "Okay, you do the same thing that Harry just did."

"Get over here bird!" Fawkes did not budge.

"I said get over here!" Once again Fawkes did not move.

"Thank you Mr. Malfoy, you can sit down."

"Stupid bird." Malfoy was heard muttering under his breath.

"What Harry and Mr. Malfoy just demonstrated was the intelligence of the Phoenix. The Phoenix will only come to those people that it trusts and will ignore those that it believes to be untrustworthy. Harry, is this your fist time seeing Fawkes?"

"No, I've met him a few times before."

"You see class? This is why a Phoenix is a class four magical creature. They trust very few people and are nearly impossible to domesticate." He then turned his attention from the class to Professor Dumbledore. "Thank you Headmaster and thank you Fawkes."

"Your welcome Mr. Weasley and good luck with your year." He and Fawkes then returned to the school.

"Now that we have met a full grown Phoenix I thought I would show you what its egg looks like. We are very fortunate to have an egg with us this year at Hogwarts and I thought that you would benefit from viewing it." He brought up the egg in his hand and showed the class. "Now, can anyone tell me why a Phoenix egg is sometimes confused with a dragon's egg?"

Hermione's hand immediately shot up in the air. "Yes Hermione?"

"The Phoenix egg has very similar markings to that of the Chinese Fireball Dragon. Both of these creatures are found in Asia and the eggs can easily be confused."

"Very good Hermione, five points to Gryffindor. Now, can anyone tell me what the difference is between a Chinese Fireball's egg and a Phoenix egg?

This time two hands shot up in the air, the first hand belonged to Hermione but the other hand surprisingly belonged to Malfoy. Not wanting to play favorites, Charlie called on Malfoy.

"Any idiot could see that they wouldn't be the same size."

"Very eloquently put Mr. Malfoy. But you're right. Five points to Slytherin." Charlie then began to discuss all about the Phoenix and their properties. The time flew by and soon it was time for lunch.

When the trio got up to the Great Hall Harry engorged himself as he had very little food at breakfast. He then began to look around the table and saw that kid from the common room. Since he missed the sorting ceremony he had no idea who he was but Ron and Hermione would know.

"Hey, who's that kid down there?"

"Which one?"

"Sandy hair, long crooked nose, and whenever he looks at me it seems as if his eyes were shooting daggers."

"Oh, you missed the ceremony. It's Godric something, I don't remember his last name."

"That's Dumbledore's grandson?"

"Woah, he's related to Dumbledore?"

"I told you that Dumbledore's grandson Godric was coming this year didn't I?"

"I think you neglected to mention it."

"Sorry, but if he's Dumbledore's grandson then why does he look like he wants to kill me?"

"Don't know, I'm guessing you haven't met him though."

"No, I've only seen him from a distance. Next time I see him I'll ask him. I'm not seeing Gabrielle at the table, where was she sorted?"

"Ravenclaw."

"I guessed she would be. At least it's not Slytherin."

"Good point, am I the only one that's noticed their attitude lately?"

"No, let me tell you what happened when I went up to get the egg." Harry then told them about everything Malfoy said and then how Snape had broke them up.

"Why would Snape prevent a beating of you?"

"No idea, I figured with the whole Sirius incident at the end of last year he would be even more irritable towards me."

"Yeah. Harry, where do you suppose I should go if I want to drop Divination?"

"I can tell you that." Hermione finally broke into the conversation. "Go tell McGonagall that you want to take Muggle Studies with me."

"When is the class?"

"This afternoon, doesn't it work nicely?"

"Yeah, so what are you going to do Harry?"

"I'm gonna head to the library. I have to pass three tests next week and basically the last four years haven't nearly prepared me for them. Where should I start Hermione?"

"It's always a good idea to start with the basics. There's an area in the library that has all the books used by students year by year. I say start with year one and work your way up."

"But I remember everything from what I've studied. Why should I go back and start all over again?"

"Simple, in case you missed anything. I saw your and Ron's version of studying. You probably missed a ton of important stuff. Get your ass up to the library and get cracking."

"Yes Sir!"

"Ma'am!" Hermione laughed and so did Ron and Harry.

"Sorry, ma'am." Harry finished eating his lunch and was heading out to the library when he looked up at the head table. Most days teachers weren't there because they were preparing for their classes but usually on the first day they made it a point of being there. However, Fleur seemed to be missing. Harry wondered if anything was wrong with her but decided that if there was anything wrong she would contact him.

The next few days flew by for Harry. Almost every waking hour that he didn't spend in class was spent in the library. "So, this is what it's like to be Hermione."

He was learning more than he ever could have imagined. If he would get bored with a subject he would simply switch topics. If it was really boring then he would find a fun book to study. One of his favorite books was written by a wizard proclaiming himself to be the "fastest wand in the world." The book was all about wizard dueling. It dealt with initial spells based on enemy skill level, the most used curses and countercurses, and even the art of the quick draw. As much as he didn't like it he knew that this book would probably be very useful over the next few years.

By Thursday he had gone through all of the books used by students in their seven years at Hogwarts. Harry had a feeling that this would be sufficient for Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration but not for Potions. He knew Snape would try and trick him with something that was really obscure. He decided that the best course of action would be to prepare for Snape's test all of Friday. Friday, there was something about Friday that he was forgetting about. Oh well, if it was important then he would remember.

Thursday was now over and he was really happy about tomorrow. Although he would be reading about potions and ingredients all day, he would not be doing it in the company of Snape or the Slytherins. He put his books away and headed up to the Gryffindor common room. Upon entering the room he Saw Godric. He was sitting in a chair by the fire reading the first year's transfiguration book. Harry decided to break the ice.

"Hello, my name is Harry."

"I know who you are."

"Do you have some kind of a problem with me?"

"Yeah, a very big problem." He slammed his book shut and ran up to his room.

Fred and George witnessed what happened and walked over to Harry. "What's up with you and the Mitby kid?"

"Mitby? So that's his last name."

"Yeah, so what's up with the two of you."

"To be honest, I don't have a clue. I don't know if I'll ever get a straight answer out of him. Have you seen him hanging out with anyone?"

"Yeah, Miss Delacour's sister."

"He's hanging out with Gabrielle?"

"I thought you were friends with those girls, haven't you been talking with them?"

"Been busy studying for tests."

"What tests? It's the first week and Snape's the only one who does that kind of thing."

"Never mind about that, how are sales?"

"Non existent, we aren't selling around here."

Harry realized that he hadn't smelt or heard any of Fred or George's products in a long time. "Why not?"

"We've decided to try and contact Zonko's for resale of our products. We may eventually open a shop of our own but we need more capital."

"Well, best of luck. I'm off to rest my eyes for a while."

"G'night Harry."

"Oh, before I go. Practice starts Saturday."

"Why so early in the year? Games don't start till November."

"I know, but we have a new Keeper this year and I want to see how he does."

"You already know how Ron flies."

"Yeah, but I've never actually seen him play a game of Quidditch."

"Be careful Harry, you may turn out to be worse than Wood."

"Don't worry, it's only going to a light practice. I have studying that I have to do."

"Fine, see you later."

"Later fellas."

Harry raced upstairs and hoped it wasn't too late. After his talk with the twins he realized that he had been neglecting his new friends. He had no idea how Fleur's year was going so far and he wanted to know.

"Fleur, are you there?"

"Fleur, are you there?"

"_Hi Harry, I'm not here right now but just leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible._"

"Hey Fleur, I just wanted to see how your classes were going. I haven't seen you around and I was just worried that weren't feeling well. Let me know how you're doing. Bye."

Fleur had heard Harry's call but didn't want to pick up. She had been staying in the Ravenclaw's tower and had been hearing Cho talk about Harry all week. She knew that they had a date to see each other on Friday and was feeling very hurt. She thought she could get over him but found that it was very difficult. Every reason she gave to why it wasn't it a good idea to date him didn't seem to make any sense and it was driving her mad. She knew that it wasn't a good idea to keep avoiding Harry but for now it was her only idea for handling the situation. Maybe it would be easier over time but for now it would have to do.

Friday morning came and Harry found that he actually got up on time. Amazed that he actually was up early put him in a good mood for his day of Potion's study. He dressed and walked downstairs with Ron and Hermione. They were talking about the Quidditch practice when the owl post came in for the day. Harry was surprised to see that he had received to letters. 

Opening the first letter he recognized Sirius' handwriting.

__

Hello Harry,

I'm back and in the bunker. You haven't lost the key have you? Don't ever send owls here as it will look suspicious. If you need to contact me then send it to box 12 in the Hogsmeade Owl Post. I have a friend checking it for me so don't worry about me picking them up. Hope everything is going well, hope to see you soon.

Love,

Padfoot

Harry was ecstatic. He was about to run up to have Hedwig deliver his answer when he remembered the other letter. He opened it up and saw that it was from Cho.

__

Hey Harry,

I hope you haven't forgot about tonight. Let's meet at the front gate, I have special permission to pick up some supplies for Hogsmeade. Shall we say seven? I'll see you there.

Cho

"Crap, I forgot about Cho!" Ron heard this and turned around.

"What about Cho?"

"I have a date with her tonight."

"You have a date and you didn't tell me?"

"Hey, I forgot."

"How could you forget that you have a date with your crush?"

"I guess I've been reading too much lately. Anyway, I gotta go up and send off a message with Hedwig. What do you guys have going on Saturday?"

"Well, thanks to you I have practice. Other than that I don't think we have plans, do we Pookie?"

"Will you stop calling me that?"

"Don't get your panties in a bunch." Ron then turned his attention back to Harry, who was bending over laughing. "What's going on Saturday?"

He bent down close to them. "Sirius is here and I have the key to go see him."

"Key?"

"Trust me, just meet me after practice at Hagrid's cabin. I think we can trust Charlie with a little secret don't you?"

"Yeah, we can trust Charlie. Percy is the only one in the family that took after mum."

"Great, well have fun with Potions." He laughed and ran out of the Great Hall. He quickly scribbled a letter for Hedwig to deliver and rushed down to the library. He had a full day of looking at books about rare magical ingredients. He had a feeling Snape would be trying to through him for a loop and would include something so rare that nobody has seen it in a hundred years.

After a couple of hours he remembered the glasses and key. He searched around the shelves until he found a book dealing with the correcting of body ailments. There were chapters on balding, liver spots, gum disease, and vision impairment. He read for a little bit and then felt that he was adequately prepared to perform the spell.

He didn't want to perform the spell just yet though. His new glasses were up in his trunk and he didn't want people to see him without any glasses on. It was about time for lunch anyway so he decided he would just grab some lunch and then head up to perform the spell.

He quickly ate and headed up to his room. He was hoping that there wouldn't be anyone around so he could work his magic in peace. His hopes were thwarted when he entered the common room and found Ron and Hermione making out.

"I said you guys could show _some_ affection in front of me, not this much."

"Harry!" They said in unison.

"Can't you guys find a more private place than the common room?"

"We thought everyone would be at lunch, what are you doing up here?"

"I'm gonna correct my vision. I need to do it to use Lupin's gift."

"Well, don't let us stop you. Go on, get outta here."

"Damn, I was hoping you would ask me to join in?"

"What?!"

"Just kidding. You two should really find another place to do this though."

"We'll take that into consideration, now give us some privacy."

"Be careful, I'm probably not the only to person to ever come back from lunch early."

Harry raced up the stairs and burst out laughing. Who would have thought that his friends were such hornballs? He opened his trunk and took out his glasses. They didn't appear to be all that different from his old ones except for the lack of tape. Not wanting to be interrupted he put a locking charm on the door.

"Hopefully I won't end up blind. Well, only one way to find out"

__

Reparo Oculus

His vision went blurry, what had gone wrong? He was starting to freak out when he realized that he was still wearing his old glasses. Taking them off the world once again became clear. He put on the new glasses and decided to see just how well they worked. Moody's eye seemed to be able to see though solid objects and Harry wanted to test just how well they worked. He stared down towards the direction of the common room to see what Ron and Hermione were up to.

"Going at it again, they really need to find someplace better to do that."

Harry then searched through the trunk and found where he had placed the key for the bunker. Not wanting to misplace it he conjured up a metal chain to put around his neck. He then put the key on the chain. The key would be invisible so it would just look like a necklace to anyone looking at it.

Harry didn't want his reading to be interrupted any longer so he chanced the common room again. Making sure to make as much noise as possible when going back down he found that Ron and Hermione were sitting on the couch trying to look innocent. 

"Good, you heard me."

"Whatever do you mean?" Hermione said trying to sound innocent.

"I saw that you two had gone back at it."

"How did you see?"

"The glasses you fool, did you forget?"

"They can see through walls?"

"Just call me Superman."

"Who's Superman?" Ron asked.

"Well, I would appreciate it if you would never look at me again Harry. I would never be able to tell if you were looking through my clothes."

"Hey, thanks for the idea Hermione."

"Don't even think about it." Ron seemed to think Harry was serious.

"I would never do it Ron, don't worry. Come on, it's Hermione."

"So what if it is me? I have plenty to look at."

"Well, if you insist." At that moment Ron tackled Harry.

Ron looked furious. "I'm kidding Ron, but you can use them if you want." Harry then passed the glasses to Ron.

"Let's give these babies a whirl." He then looked Hermione up and down. "Not bad Hermione."

"Ron! We've only been going out a couple months. You are not supposed to see me naked."

"I'm kidding, I can't see a thing. There must be a block on it to prevent looking through people's clothes."

"There better be, well I have to grab my books. Be back down in a minute."

"Okay, bye Hermione."

"Is there really a block on them Ron?"

"No, and I must say that I'm a very lucky guy. Oh, if you ever look at Hermione when using those I'll kill you."

"Very well, I'll put a spell to prevent looking at her. Don't deprive me of anyone else though."

"For now that'll be fine but when Ginny comes back the same goes for her."

"Agreed, makes you wonder about Moody though doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Sssh, she's coming back."

Ron and Hermione joined Harry down in the library. Hermione was determined for Harry to pass his tests. She also agreed with him that Snape would be the most difficult test and he should focus on it the most. She began to pull out books that she thought would be helpful for his test and even a few for the other three tests. When he got to the Defense Against the Dark Arts book his thoughts once again trailed back to Fleur.

"Hey guys, how was Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Good, Professor Figg and Fleur did really well."

"Did Fleur seem well to you?"

"Yeah, maybe a bit nervous but that is to be expected. Why?"

"I just haven't talked with her since the train and was wondering if she was fine."

"It's the first week and she has a lot going on. I'm sure she's fine." Answered Ron

"Yeah, she's just probably busy Harry." Added Hermione.

"You're probably right. Hey, do you think I'll need to know anything from the restricted section?"

"Maybe, but I wouldn't recommend that right now. You can probably wait on doing that till the weekend."

"Hey, what time is it?"

"Wow, 6:30."

"Damn, I gotta go. Thanks for the help guys. What are you going to do tonight?"

"We'll probably just go for a walk and visit Charlie."

"Okay, I'll see you guys later."

Harry rushed up to his room. He wanted to check to see if Fleur had called when he was out. There was no message from her when he got there. Was she avoiding him? Maybe Cho would know more about her since they were in the same area.

Harry made it down to the front entrance a little before seven and saw that Cho was waiting for him. He couldn't help but stare at her and then it happened without warning. His constant staring at her had activated his glasses and her clothes began to melt away. Harry couldn't deny that she had a great body, she must work out. He shook his head and the clothes came back into his vision.

"You look great Cho."

"Thanks Harry, ready to go?"

"Yeah, so what are you picking up?"

"I'm getting something for our Quidditch team. Professor Flitwick has approved this visit to Hogsmeade so I can shop for a new broomstick. I really don't care if I get a new one though, I kept up with you just fine before."

"You wish, I was flying circles." He wasn't sure if she would take this as a joke or him being cocky. 

"If that's the way you chose to remember it then by all means live a fantasy."

"Hey, who won?"

"I don't deny that you won, you were just lucky."

"Lucky? Now you're hitting below the belt. I am a very good Seeker."

"And I'm not?"

"You're a good Seeker too."

"Good, I just wanted to hear you say it. We're here."

"The Three Broomsticks?"

"Where else are we going to eat?"

They had a good meal and Harry had a great time getting to know Fleur. Harry was surprised to find out that Cho had been named the Ravenclaw's captain.

"I'm Gryffindor's captain, you're Ravenclaw's captain, and Malfoy is Slytherin's captain. Have any idea who Hufflepuff's captain is?"

"Yeah, we have some classes with Hufflepuff. It's a fifth year guy named Justin Finch-Fletchley, know him?"

"Yeah, we have Herbology together. I can't believe he didn't tell me about it."

"The Hufflepuffs have been a bit somber since Cedric passed." Harry saw a tear start in her eye.

"I'm sorry about what happened Cho, if I could have done anything more to help him I would have."

"Oh Harry, you did so much for him already. If it weren't for you then his parents wouldn't have had the body for the funeral."

"How close were you and Cedric?"

"We had been dating for a while and I did love him, but he's gone now." She was trying desperately to not cry but Harry could tell it was a losing battle.

"Should I change the subject?"

"Would you please. Tell me about your childhood."

Harry then told her all about growing up with the Dursley's and about the day he found out he was a wizard. Then he told select stories about his time at Hogwarts, not wanting to say anything that would get him in trouble. She was amazed at all that had happened to him and discovered just what kind of person he was. She never realized just what he had to go through at the end of the tournament. She knew that he had to be a special wizard to have lived this long.

"So Harry, mind if I ask you a strange question?"

"Shoot."

"Do you feel like you're blessed or you're cursed?"

"I've thought about that a lot. In many ways I'm happy to be here but at times I wonder if my being here is more hurtful than helpful. Cedric is a perfect example of that, if it weren't for me then he would still be alive."

"But if it weren't for you then the Dark Lord would have found the Sorcerer's Stone your first year. It was just unfortunate what happened to Cedric."

"I guess you're right, so to tell you I don't really know if I'm blessed or cursed. Now can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why did you want to go out with me?"

"I knew you would ask that eventually. I kind of have an idea but I'm not even fully sure. I guess I started noticing you more when I started playing for Ravenclaw. I remember the way you used to smile at me and would then turn red. I thought it was very cute. I didn't know if you would ever do anything about it and then the year ended. I had given up on you ever asking me out but then the Yule Ball happened. By then Cedric and I were already going out and I felt really bad when you asked me out. I think I would have probably said yes if it weren't for Cedric. Then the whole business at the end of the year changed everything. I was devastated when he died but it didn't really set in till I went to visit his parents."

"They tried to comfort me but I ended up comforting them more. Sure, I loved Cedric but we had only been going out for a short while. I realized that I had to move on I immediately thought of you. I knew that you liked me and truth be told I liked you too. You have many similar qualities to Cedric and many more that are unique to you. You are one of the strongest individuals I have ever met and I knew that I had to get to know you better."

"Wow, that's a hell of an explanation. Don't get me wrong though, I really am glad you asked me out. I probably would have never approached with what happened to Cedric."

"We have to move on, if we continue to live in the past then we will never get to experience the future. I just had to realize that Cedric would approve of you as a person. He used to talk about you when we were together. He told me about how you helped him with the first task."

"You knew?"

"Hey, we were going out. Do you think couples keep secrets from each other?"

"Remind me to never divulge secrets to Ron."

"Who's Ron seeing?"

"Hermione Granger, know her?"

"Of course I know her, we're both prefects."

"Prefect, Quidditch captain, and gorgeous to boot. Is there anything bad about you that you're hiding?"

"Maybe if we get a little more physical you'll find out."

"It's always the quiet ones."

Harry and Cho left the Three Broomsticks and headed over to look at broomsticks before the shop closed. They got there so late that they barely had time to look around before getting the boot. It was mixed blessing as it was getting dark out and their curfew was coming up.

The couple walked through the castle until they had to go their separate ways. Cho gave Harry a peck on the cheek and thanked him for a lovely evening and then ran towards where Harry assumed the Ravenclaw Tower was located. He thought about it more and realized that he didn't really know all that much about Ravenclaw. The only times Ravenclaw students and Gryffindor students were ever together was for meals and Quidditch games.

Harry ran up to his own tower and was greeted by two smiling faces just as he entered the portrait hole. Ron and Hermione were eager to see how his evening went.

"How was the date Harry?"

'Would let me get in the common room before you start interrogating me Ron?"

"Fine, but you're not going upstairs before you tell us what happened."

Harry then told Ron and Hermione all about his and Cho's evening together. They were both a little startled about Cho's reasons for wanting to go out with him. Hermione made some mental notes about what Harry told them and decided to observe the couple every chance she had.

"Ron, we better get to bed."

"What for?"

"Practice tomorrow, did you forget?"

"Err, yeah."

"Well, now you're reminded so get your ass upstairs."

"Jawohl!"

"German?"

"Yeah, Fred and George know how to say 'Yes sir' in a bunch of different languages. It's their way of irritating mum."

"Goodnight Pookie."

"Don't you start now Harry."

"What, I thought that's what we're supposed to be calling you."

"It is not what you're supposed to be calling."

"Yeah, it's what I'm supposed to be calling her." Added Ron.

"Shut up Ron!"

"What's the matter?" Asked Ron.

"Nothing Angel Tits."

"Angel Tits? What the hell is that?"

"Well, if you keep calling me Pookie then I'm going to call you Angel Tits."

"Don't ever call me Angel Tits, I give in."

"I don't know, I think it kind of fits you."

Harry was on the ground laughing at this point and Ron and Hermione's shock so were Fred and George. Both Ron and Hermione looked really embarrassed and ran upstairs before the verbal berating could start. Harry reminded the twins and the Chasers about practice in the morning and then headed off to bed himself.

Ron woke up to Harry's shaking the next morning.

"What time is it?"

"Seven, so get up and get ready. I'll see you down at breakfast."

"Is it too late to turn down the position?"

"Yes, so get ready and get downstairs."

Harry made his way down to Great Hall to get some food before heading out to the Quidditch field. He didn't like the fact that when he got down there he was the first from his team to arrive. Eventually, everyone finally arrived and Harry made the announcement that it would just be a short practice to see how everyone was playing. They hadn't had a game in over a year and they had a new Keeper to worry about. Harry was also very worried with his own play because it had been so long.

Much to his relief everyone seemed to be in rare form. The teams flying ability hadn't deteriorated over the break and Harry was happy to know that it wouldn't be as bad of a time as he thought. After everyone had warmed up he decided to bring everyone in for an update.

"Great flying guys. Today's practice is mainly for Ron but we'll also be needing your help girls."

"Sure Harry, anything for Ron." All of the girls ran over and started to hug Ron.

"Hey! I'm spoken for!" 

"We know, and that's why this is much fun. You can thank Fred and George for the idea."

"Okay, enough playing around. Ron go up and get ready to block, Angelina take this Quaffle and give him some practice." Harry handed her the Quaffle from his birthday present.

Try as she might, it was nearly impossible for Angelina to get the Quaffle past Ron. He was zooming in front of the goalposts so fast that she could barely see him. The speed from the Firebolt was made even more effective by the fact he was so big. Harry was pleased for the moment but decided to mix things up.

"Okay, enough one on one. Katie you and Angelina see if you can do any better as a team."

This proved a little more difficult for Ron because of the added difficulty of not knowing who would be shooting. Angelina and Katie were passing the Quaffle very fast between each other and would shoot at moments when Ron didn't think it would be possible to score. Harry was worried at first but after a while he started to get the hang of it. He was soon blocking almost every shot and Harry was very pleased.

"Okay, come on back. That's enough for today." Said Harry.

"You don't need me?" Asked Alicia.

"We have plenty of time and I don't want to work on a three on one right now. That rarely happens and I don't think it's critical for Ron to know right away."

Ron, Angelina, and Katie all landed. "How did I do?" Asked Ron.

"You did great Ron, Wood would have been proud." Answered Katie and Angelina.

"At least we know the great Weasley tradition will live on past the end of the year." Fred and George then ran over to Ron and threw their arms around him in a joking way. "Our little baby is all grow'd up."

"Get off me, will you two grow up?"

"Hopefully not, that would be too boring." Answered George.

"Seriously, you did great Ron." Added Fred.

"Great practice everyone, I'll let you know when the next one will be."

The majority of the team went back up towards the castle but Ron and Harry stayed back. Hermione had been watching the practice and ran up to Ron and Harry. The threw her arms around her boyfriend.

"You did great Ron."

"Thanks, so where are we going Harry?"

"Well, to Hagrid's hut first so we can put on the invisibility cloak. Charlie will be cool with us having an invisibility cloak won't he?"

"He'll be fine with it, let's get going."

The three quickly made their way down to the new residency of the Care of Magical Creatures professor. They knocked on the door and heard to booming bark of Fang.

"Hold on! Down Fang!" Charlie opened up the door. "Hey guys, what's going on?"

"Can we come in?"

"Sure, welcome to my humble abode."

Fang jumped up on Harry and began to lick his face. "So, how come you're saying down here Charlie?" Harry asked.

"Well, if you would have visited with these two then you would have found out that I'm taking care of Fang while I'm here. Dumbledore did it over the summer but thought it would be best that I was down here for some reason or another. I told him that Fang could stay up in the castle with me but he thought it best for me just to stay here."

"Sorry about not visiting, been busy studying."

"That's what Ron said."

"About why Dumbledore is having you stay down here. That may be because he thought you would be able to keep our secret."

"What secret?"

"Sirius Black is here."

"What?!"

"Relax, he's on our side."

"Kidding, mum told me about him from the end of last year. She didn't give me the whole story though."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione then told him about what happened during their third year and how that Sirius was innocent. 

"So, he's your godfather. Okay, if he's here then why aren't you with him right now."

"He's in an invisible bunker here on the grounds and I'm one of the people with a key. We need you here so we can put on the invisibility cloak in private. Dumbledore didn't want us disappearing into nothingness in case somebody say us."

"You have an invisibility cloak? I'm really impressed Harry."

"It was my father's, but we really should be going."

The three of them said goodbye to Charlie and then disappeared underneath Harry's invisibility cloak. "Thanks Charlie."

They made their way across the grounds towards where Dumbledore said the bunker was located. Harry was very glad that he had performed the spell the day before, because it would have probably been hard to find the place. As it was he could see that the bunker was located near the edge of the Forbidden Forest in an area not frequented by many people. It didn't look like anything special to the naked eye, the grass was even dead so people wouldn't even want to picnic there.

Harry took the key out of his pocket and put it in the lock. He opened the door and found that there was a small room with another door on the other side.

"What's this all about?" Harry asked.

"Probably don't want a doorway to another room appearing out of nowhere. Kind of like an airlock I think." Guessed Hermione.

"Makes sense, close the first door." Ron closed the door and then everyone took off the cloak. They then went up to the next door and found that it was unlocked.

"Sirius?" Harry asked.

"In here, there are special monitors around the place so I knew you were coming." Sirius then came out from the next room. Harry ran up and threw his arms around him.

"Like my bachelor pad?"

"It's great, so how long are you staying."

"Until my name is cleared, this way I can still be close to you without anyone knowing it." He then looked up to Ron and Hermione. "How are you two doing?"

"We're good. Hope you don't mind but my brother knows about you and this place."

"Actually, that's how Dumbledore and I planned on doing it."

"Where have you been Sirius?" Harry asked.

"I've been rallying the troops, dark times are ahead."

"Is that why you're here?"

"Partly, but I'm also here for your moral support. This is going to be a very difficult year for you Harry."

"More so than the past?"

"Most likely, but try not to think about it. Tell me how your summer was and about the start of term."

Harry then told Sirius everything that had been happening since the last time they were together. Most of what Harry talked about Sirius already seemed to know. Dumbledore had probably been keeping in contact with him and had been telling him about Harry. 

"Well, it has been nice seeing you but from the sound of it you should be up in the library instead of down here with me."

"But, I thought you would want to spend time with me."

"I do, but we have the rest of our lives together and the tests are on Monday."

"You're starting to sound like Hermione."

"I'm right behind you Harry!" 

"Woops!" Harry laughed.

"Get up to the castle and I don't want you back down here unless your tests are over. I want to hear how they went."

"Fine, but I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it Harry, you just have to deal with it."

The trio put the cloak back over them and left the invisible bunker. It was now nearly dinnertime and the three of them hadn't had a bite to eat since early in the morning. Harry knew that he would have a long evening of studying ahead of him but all he could think about was going back down to talk with Sirius about his women problem. One of his best friends wasn't talking with him and his old crush seemed to want to date him. Too much going on during the first week, what was the rest of the year going to be like?


	7. The Exams

A message was delivered to Harry at breakfast Sunday morning, it was his schedule for the next day ****

Chapter Seven – The Exams

A message was delivered to Harry at breakfast Sunday morning, it was his schedule for the next day. He would have the Charms and Transfiguration exams in the morning, a break for lunch, and then the Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potion Exams in the afternoon.

Ron looked over his shoulder. "Looks like you have a fun day tomorrow."

"Yeah, Potions is the cherry on top of a the sundae that is my hell day."

"Nice use of imagery."

"Thanks, well I better be off."

"Beat off?"

"BE OFF, Ron! What happened to you this summer?"

"Puberty and a girlfriend, deal with it."

"I guess so, if you need me you know where to find me."

"The bathroom on the second floor?"

"You're pushing it Ron."

"I'll stop pushing it so you can go pull it."

"This is never going to end, see you later."

"Bye Harry."

Harry made his way down to the library and immediately went for a potions book on rare ingredients from Africa. He had already covered Asia, the Americas, and Europe. Besides Africa all he had left was Australia and that wouldn't be too difficult to cover in a day.

He only had about twenty-four hours left before his day would begin. He was fairly confident about the majority of his tests. He knew that McGonagall, Flitwick, and Figg would be very straightforward with their exams, it was Snape that would try and trick him. After a while he got tired with studying and decided to take a little walk. He made his way around the castle and began to go places he didn't readily frequent. He was about to turn around and head back to the library but a voice shouted out to him.

"Harry!"

Harry turned around and saw that behind a tapestry he just passed stood Gabrielle. "Hey Gabrielle, how are you doing?"

"I'm good, but where have you been? I never really see you around and you weren't there for my sorting."

"Sorry, hasn't your sister told you what's going on?"

"No, she's been keeping to herself mostly. What's going on?"

"I suppose it doesn't matter if I tell you since you already know about my powers. I'm taking tests tomorrow to pass out of some of my classes."

"You must be really special Harry."

"Something like that, so you don't know how your sister is feeling?"

"No, in fact I haven't seen her since late Friday. So, how did your date go?"

"How did you know I went on a date?"

"Cho has been talking about it since she got back. She's very taken with you."

"It was fine, Gryffindors and Ravenclaws don't normally get to hang out so it was nice to get to know her."

"Get any?"

"Gabrielle!"

"Well, did you at least get a good night kiss?"

"A peck on the cheek if you must know. Speaking of significant others I hear you've been hanging out with a Gryffindor named Godric."

"Yeah, we met on the train coming here. He is a really nice boy."

He isn't nice to me Harry thought. "Has he mentioned me?"

"No, the only time we ever talk about you is if I bring up something that happened over the summer. By the way, thank you very much for teaching me English. It has been really helpful in class and getting to know people."

"No problem, so how are classes going?"

"Fine, we have a lot of classes with Hufflepuff and one with Slytherin. Why don't we ever have classes with Gryffindor?"

"I don't know, it does seem a little weird. So, you like your teachers?"

"Almost all of them, Snape is a real nightmare though. He really doesn't like it that I'm Fleur's sister I think."

"Yeah, he has been trying to get the job that your sister is taking over next year."

"Great, so it's a petty reason. Doesn't he have anything better to do?"

"Not really, he seems to get his jollies from it. Well, I should really get going Gabrielle. It was good seeing you but I should really get back to the library."

"You're leaving? You just got here and I have barely seen you in a week."

"Don't worry, I should have more time after tomorrow. Tell you what, I'll meet you on Tuesday for a study session. You can ask me for any help you want."

"Sounds great!" She threw her arms around Harry and rushed back behind the tapestry.

Harry was expecting to go back to the library without any difficulties but another person stopped him. Cho had apparently been coming this way but stopped to watch Harry and Gabrielle's conversation.

"Already cheating on me?"

"Well, she is cute isn't she?"

"I'll give you that, but isn't she a little young for you?"

"Hey, you're the one into younger guys."

"Touche, so what are you doing up here?"

"Just taking a little study break. So, I'm guessing that Ravenclaw House is behind that tapestry?"

"Yeah, but it's enchanted so that only Ravenclaw students can lift it. Maybe I'll sneak you in there sometime."

"For what?"

"If you're lucky you just might find out." She then walked over and pulled off Harry's glasses. "Have you ever thought about correcting your vision?"

Harry had secretly already done so before so he could wear his new glasses. He hoped she wouldn't try on his glasses thus finding out he had special glasses. He quickly tried to grab the glasses. "I've kinda grown used to them, don't you like them?"

"Oh, I think they're darling. But don't you think you would look cuter with them off?"

"Maybe, but I don't want to start making out with my reflection now do I?"

"Yeah, so what's the hurry."

"I have some studying to do in the library."

"Fine, I'll let you get back to the library under one condition."

"Name your terms."

"We go on a picnic next Saturday."

"Fine, can I have my glasses back?"

"Great, see you Saturday." She gave Harry a peck on the cheek and headed towards the tapestry. Harry saw it move as Cho was saying goodbye, using his glasses he peered through the fabric. He saw Fleur running away from the tapestry at a very quick speed. Why was she doing that? Oh well, he could ask her tomorrow.

Harry rushed back to the library and decided to chance getting into the restricted section. If his plan didn't work then he could always go back to reviewing other books he knew wouldn't help at all.

"Excuse me, Madam Pince?"

"Yes?" She asked in a way almost as if she was annoyed that he talked with her.

"I was wondering if maybe I could go into the restricted section for a little bit?"

"Of course you can, I'm surprised you haven't done so already."

"Why are you letting me back there?"

"The Headmaster has given you special permission to use the area, didn't you know that?"

"Apparently not or else I wouldn't be surprised now would I?"

"Don't get smart with me, go and read your books."

"Thanks." Harry said almost sarcastically. 

He was glad that he would be able to review these books, even if it was for a short time. He learned about rare ingredients and about dark magic creatures that had been avoided in other books. Also, there were spells and charms that were not permitted for anyone in school, especially a boy of fifteen. His biggest discovery was a book on human transfiguration. He read up on all the theories but decided he shouldn't try anything without permission and supervision.

He spent hours in the restricted section before Madam Pince came up and told him the library would be closing. He was lucky to have got in there when he did so he thanked her very much and left the library. It felt as if he had been studying almost nonstop for a week straight and he needed his rest.

Before he knew what was going on he was already through the portrait of the Fat Lady and in the common room. He gave some waves to people that seemed to be saying hello to him but for some reason he was too tired to talk. He knew that he would have a restful sleep tonight, and he would need it. Tomorrow would be more difficult than any final exam schedule, he guessed it would be on par with the O.W.L.'s or the N.E.W.T.'s. Crap, the O.W.L.'s were at the end of the year and he would have to go through this all over again.

Harry flopped down on his bed and immediately fell asleep. He didn't see that there was a long awaited reply for him from Fleur. The little figure was trying to get his attention by jumping up and down but to no avail. Harry was gone for the night and wouldn't show any signs of life till morning. 

Harry got out of bed quickly, thinking that he was already late to his Charms exam. He threw on some clothes, grabbed his wand, and rushed down the stairs. In his rush he once again missed the message from Fleur.

Harry arrived at Flitwick's class in plenty of time. In fact, he was more than an hour early but did not feel like eating. Instead, he decided to use his extra time to practice some charms. After a while the tiny Professor Flitwick joined him. 

"Hello Mr. Potter, early are we?"

"Yeah, didn't realize what time it was. How are you doing?"

"I'm good, this is a first for me. So, Dumbledore tells me that you've really accelerated over the summer. Think you're up to a bit of a challenge."

"I'll do my best."

"That's all I expect of you. Ready to get started?"

"Sure, what's first?"

"I'll be testing you on some spells that will be very useful for you in the real world and some ones that can be used for fun. Let's start with some self levitation."

"Okay."

__

Suus Leviosa

Harry began to levitate a foot off the ground. Flitwick began to clap madly.

"Very good Harry, you did it perfectly. Most people have trouble controlling their height during the charm. Can you perform the counter spell?

__

Finite Incantum

"That was simple, but I wanted to make sure you could do it. Now, what should I have you do?"

"I don't know, what would you like me to do?"

"Sorry, just thinking out loud. How about a disabling charm?"

"You want me to do that to you?"

"Well, let's do something first to prepare for it. There are ten pillows in that cabinet, I want you to summon them and then place them over on the other side of the room."

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Accio Pillows

All at once the ten pillows burst out of the cabinet and began to swarm at Harry. Before they could reach him he redirected them so they gathered together in a perfect pile on the side of the room.

"Very good Harry, now let's try the disabling charm."

Harry made sure that Flitwick was properly placed so he would hit the pillows instead of the wall. After he felt that everything was perfect for the charm he told Flitwick he was going to do it.

"I'm sorry about this."

__

Stupefy

Flitwick flew into the pillows at a very alarming rate. Harry rushed over to make sure that he wasn't hurt. He appeared to be fine but Harry wanted to wake him to be sure.

__

Ennervate

"Oooh, my head."

"Sorry about that Professor, but you did ask me to do it."

"I know I did Harry, it's just been a while for me. Ready for the last part?"

"Let me do one thing first."

__

Relevare

"This is amazing Harry, my headache is gone!"

"I found it in an old book, it's a cure for headaches. So, what's next?"

"In case you ever come across a Muggle that witnesses you using magic it will be necessary to erase their memory. Do you know how to do the memory charm?"

"Yes."

"Then you must know that the memory charm is only to be used at rare moments and should never be used for evil."

"I know, but if I do the charm then how will you know if I passed?"

"We'll just have to trust in you won't we?"

"Guess so, ready?"

"Hit me!"

__

Obliviate

"Oh, hello Harry. Ready for your test?"

"Thought this might happen, so if obliviate erases then this may work. I really hope it works."

"Hope what works?"

"Trust me Professor, this is for the best."

__

Rememorari

Flitwick's eyes fluttered and then he seemed to come back to reality. "Well done Harry, come up with that on your own?"

"Yeah, can probably only performed by the person who performed the memory charm in the first place though."

"That would make sense, I believe you have passed Harry."

"Really? That's it?"

"Yes, you have demonstrated that you can perform complex spells that will be helpful to you after you leave school. Also, you even came up with a spell of your own. You have done everything I would expect of a graduating student and then some. When would you like to meet for our private studies?"

"Can we wait till I find out if I pass the rest of my tests?"

"That would fine, good luck with the rest of your exams. Have a good day."

"Thanks Professor, I'll let you know later about what I want to do."

Harry felt really good after the first test, it was almost too easy. He made his way down to the Transfiguration class and was greeted by Professor McGonagall.

"Hello Harry, how did your Charms exam go?"

"It was great, Flitwick said I passed."

"I knew you would, ready to change some objects."

"Yeah."

"Good, let's begin. My exam will have four parts, the first will be changing an inanimate object into an animate object. Sound easy?"

"Yeah, I've done it before."

"Well, let's make a little more challenging. I want you to change that cabinet into Professor Snape."

"Easy."

"Not so fast! I haven't finished. I heard about the Boggart from a couple years ago and I want to see what you students saw."

"Professor, this isn't very much like you."

"I know, but Severus said a rather nasty comment to me and I want a little revenge."

"Alright, just as long as I don't get in trouble."

"Don't worry, it'll be our little secret."

Harry raised his wand and focused on the cabinet. He thought back to the day when Neville had turned the Boggart into a dress wearing Professor Snape. He almost started laughing again when he thought of the vulture hat. Composing himself, he turned to the cabinet and turned it into an exact replica of what the students saw that day.

She began to laugh uncontrollably. "That's funniest thing I've ever seen."

"So, you approve?"

"Yeah, it's perfect. Just what I needed to get me through the year."

"You seem different Professor, is there anything wrong?"

"No, just learning to let my hair down a little more; so to speak."

She really had been letting her hair down. What had gotten into her? The Professor McGonagall he knew would never ask for a visual joke and surely would never laugh as hard as this woman just had. Harry would have thought she had finally found a man, but then the thought of Professor McGonagall with a guy made him queasy so he asked what was next.

"You did very well on the inanimate to animate, now you will turn an animate into an inanimate." Harry looked around, he and the Professor were the only animates in the room.

"What should I change?"

"I'm sorry, I forgot my test subject." McGonagall left the room for a few moments before finally returning with a very familiar bird.

"What are you doing with Hedwig?"

"I won't be doing anything with her, you will be changing her into an exact sculpture of her in flight."

"Material?"

"Let's be daring, how about silver."

"Don't worry Hedwig, I'll be gentle." Hedwig gave a hoot and then turned into an exact copy of herself. However, she now had her wings spread out and was made of shiny silver.

"Very good Harry, I'm very impressed so far." Harry quickly changed Hedwig back into her real form and stroked her back.

"What's next?"

"I want you to turn an inanimate object into another inanimate object."

"Sounds simple enough."

"You are very confident aren't you?"

"To be honest, it has been really easy so far."

"I'm sure it has, but you're doing things that give many highly trained wizards great difficulty. You should consider yourself lucky that things are as easy as they are. Now, for this part of the test I would like you to turn this desk into an exact copy of itself."

"What would that prove?"

"Wait, I want you to turn it into an exact copy of itself meaning I want all of the nicks and scratches to stay where they are. The thing I want you to change is I want the desk to be made out of Hawaiian Koa wood."

"What is that?"

"It's a very rare and beautiful wood."

"I can't do it if I don't know what it looks like."

"I know you can't, that's why I brought a sample." She brought out of her pocket a very small piece of wood that was indeed very beautiful. Harry then walked all around the desk making sure he knew where every imperfection was so he could make the proper transformation. Finally feeling like he had it all memorized he stood back and gave it a go.

The desk had changed in appearance. It had changed from a dull Oak into the beautiful wood of the Hawaiian Koa. Professor McGonagall began to clap while jumping up and down. At least, that's what Harry thought he saw. Nah, he probably was just imagining it.

"Thank you Harry, it's perfect."

"Want me to change it back?"

"Not on your life, I've always wanted a desk like this."

"Then why didn't you transfigure it yourself?"

"It's time I leveled with you Harry, what you just did is nearly impossible. It would take me more than twenty years to learn how to do what you just did."

"Really? But you're an Animagi."

"I know I am, and that also took many years to learn how to do it. Changing that desk was so simple for you Harry and I'm afraid to say that I'm a bit jealous."

"I'm sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry about, I think it's great what you can do. You can do almost anything you want Harry so you should consider yourself lucky."

"I do, so what's the last part of the test?"

"I was going to have you turn Hedwig into another animal but I think you can do a lot more. Harry, do you know what the difference between transfiguring yourself and becoming an Animagi?"

"Yeah, when you transfigure yourself you think like the object you become but an Animagi still retains all their knowledge and powers."

"Very good Harry, have you ever thought about becoming an Animagi?"

"Ever since I learned my dad was one I always wondered what it would be like. Do you think I can do it?"

"Not only do I think you can do it, I think you can advance on it."

"What do you mean advance on it?"

"Traditionally, after years of training a witch or wizard will gain the ability to transform into an animal. That animal becomes the only creature that they transform into for the rest of their life because it took so long to learn in the first place. Harry, for someone like you it shouldn't be too difficult to have more than one animal form."

"You think I could change into different animals?"

"Yes, I think it is well within your grasp."

"How do I do it? I mean, I've read theories and all about how to become an Animagi but they don't really go into detail."

"That's because of the difficulty involved in doing it. There are very few people who have accomplished the feat and there has never been a real authority on the subject."

"No wonder I couldn't find a decent text on it."

"Now Harry, we have to make an agreement here. If you are able to accomplish what we start today you have to give me your word that you will only use your powers for good."

"Of course I will, why are you so worried?"

"Well, people have to register themselves as Animagi as you already know."

"Yes."

"We will only be registering you as one animal with the Ministry. If you register yourself as being anything you want to be then I think some questions would be raised."

"Fine, I'll behave. So what do I have to do?"

"Well, since this will be your first time you will be taking on your true animal form."

"True animal form?"

"Each person has an animal within them, mine is a cat. It is just kind of a representation of ourselves in animal form."

"I'll give it a try, what do I have to do?"

"You have to want to become an animal, it isn't a simple transfiguration spell. Sure, you can point your wand at yourself and change into something else but it wouldn't be the same. You wouldn't have control and if you ever did it when you were alone you'd be out of luck. Think of all the studying you've done for this test. Think about how easy it was for you to change these things today. Know that you want to become an animal and you will become an animal."

Harry began to focus on his desire. Ever since the story of his father's transformation he wanted to do it. Hell, even Pettigrew was able to do it. He sat there, thinking of everything he has changed and then began to feel a weird sensation come over him. He felt his head grow and then his arms went down to the ground. Harry was doing it, he was becoming an animal. After he felt nothing else was going to happen he decided to open his eyes. He was now face to face with McGonagall and she had a big smile on her face. She brought up a mirror and showed him just what he had become.

"Congratulations Harry, meet your animal self." Harry stared in the face of a large stag, not unlike his father. He tilted his head around to see just how good he had done. Then he noticed it, his marking that would be used to identify him. On his forehead there was a patch of hair that was an exact replica of his scar. Harry was really pleased with himself but then got a little scared.

McGonagall could tell something was wrong when Harry began to rear back on his hind legs as if trying to stand upright. She tried to calm him down but wasn't having much luck.

"Relax Harry, you have to be relaxed to change back. Simply do the opposite of what you just did. Think of yourself becoming a human again and you will do it.

Harry stopped rearing and settled down. He felt his heart rate return to normal as he tried to think about becoming human again. Soon, he felt his head returning to normal as well as the rest of his body.

"I'm very impressed Harry, you accomplished in a matter of minutes what takes years for many highly trained wizards."

"Thanks, it felt great until I freaked out about changing back."

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you about that first. So, what did you think of your Animagi form?"

"It reminds me of my dad. Almost everything was the same, except for the marking."

"Yes, that's your identifier that you're an Animagi. We'll have to take you to London as soon as possible to register you." Professor McGonagall looked at her wrist. "Oh my, you're missing your lunch."

"Great, I'm starved. By the way, did I pass?"

"Of course you did, we can start working on further transformations in the future. Contact me for preferred times. Good luck with your other tests Harry."

"Thanks Professor." Harry quickly ran to the Great Hall because his much neglected stomach was now aching. He spotted Ron and Hermione at the table and quickly took a seat.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Harry asked.

"Harry, thought you were a no show." Ron replied. "What happened this morning?"

"I thought I overslept so I rushed out the door."

"How did your tests go this morning?" Hermione asked.

"Great, I passed them both. We can talk later when there are fewer people around."

"Uh Harry, what's up with that little Fleur figure?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, since last night it has been jumping up and down waving her arms."

"Crap, there must be a message from Fleur. Oh well, I'll be seeing her right after lunch."

"Speaking of after lunch, it's time to leave." Hermione said when she looked at her watch.

"Already? I just got here." Harry said with a mouth full of sandwich.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't take so long the next time. Your next test starts in ten minutes."

Harry choked down the rest of his sandwich and ran out the door. He could of swore that Malfoy said something to him on his way out but he was too busy to care. Harry ran up to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and was out of breath by the time he got there.

"You know, you won't be penalized if you're late Harry." It was Mrs. Figg.

"Sorry, but these tests have been going long. How are you Mrs. Figg?"

"I'm good, but I'm still a bit worried that you might get hurt. That's why I brought a spotter to help us out."

"Spotter?" At that moment Fleur walked in carrying a crate. She set it down next to a large tank of water and a big black trunk.

"Hey Fleur, how's it going?"

"I'm good Harry, how about you?"

"I'm good, sorry I missed your message though. Ron just told me about it."

"That's okay, ready for your test?"

"Yeah, let's do it. I don't want to chance being late for Snape."

Mrs. Figg then walked over to the large tank of water. "For this test Harry you will be facing three dark creatures and then you'll be participating in a wizarding duel."

"A duel?"

"Yes, and don't think I'll be going easy on you. Ready for your first challenge?"

Harry nodded and then Mrs. Figg opened the large tank of water. The creature crawled out of the water very slowly and began to eye Harry with delight. It slowly walked over to him and looked like it wanted blood.

"Here's to an excellent fight." Harry said and then bowed. The creature facing him then did the same thing and fell dead.

"Very good Harry, you knew what you were facing?"

"It was a Kappa from Japan. If you can get it to bow it will lose the water from the pool on his head and will die."

"Well done, now for the second creature. Be very careful with this one Harry, Fleur and I will be watching to make sure you don't get hurt." She then waved to Fleur who opened the crate she had just brought in.

Out of the crate came a voice, rather three voices that seemed to be talking in a conversation.

__

"I say we kill him."

"But what if he's fun to play with? We could go out in the woods or maybe chase some rodents."

"Quiet you two, both of you are stupid."

At the end of the little conversation a vivid orange snake with three eyes slithered out of the crate. It began to move towards Harry and then stopped. Harry looked up to Mrs. Figg.

"Uh, I think this is too easy."

"What do you mean?"

"Watch and I'll show you." Harry then bent down and looked all three snake head's in the eyes. 

__

"I think you should go back into the crate." To himself he was speaking English but to Fleur and Mrs. Figg it sounded like hissing. They were both a little startled by what had just happened.

__

"Okay, nice to meet you." All three heads said in unison and then turned around. The snake slithered back into the crate and even closed the lid.

__

"Nice to meet you too." Harry replied.

"I told you it would be too easy, didn't Dumbledore tell you that I was a Parselmouth?"

"Yes, but I didn't believe him." Replied Mrs. Figg. "Well, you may have got past the Kappa and the Runespoor but I've saved the most deadly for last." She walked over to the big black trunk and opened it. Harry was surprised to see that she actually ran to the side of the room as did Fleur.

Harry waited for a creature to come out but at first nothing happened. He just stared at it with his wand ready for anything. Then, he saw something move. The shadow in front of the trunk appeared to be moving towards him. It was moving towards him! Harry remembered reading about this in a magical creatures book. He quickly thought of the moment that Dumbledore told him that he could stay with Sirius at Hogwarts for as along as he wanted. Then he called for his friend.

__

Expecto Patronum

From Harry's wand came a shining stag that careened towards the creature. He guarded Harry while the creature attempted to return to the confines of the trunk. It appeared to be in pain at the sight of Harry's Patronus. As soon as the creature was fully in the trunk Mrs. Figg ran up and closed it. Then Harry stared at the brilliant creature in front of him.

"Think you can stay for a little longer?" To his shock the stag bowed its head. It didn't disappear like it normally did and it actually acknowledged him.

"Um, Harry. We still have something else to do. Do you think your friend can join us again later?" Mrs. Figg asked.

"Fine, I'll see you again okay?" The Patronus nodded and then disappeared. Wow, it had actually remained behind at my request!

"Well done Harry, you recognized the Lethifold and knew to call on a Patronus. May I ask how you made such a brilliant Patronus?"

"I've had some problems with Dementors in the past, but something was different this time. Why did it stay?"

"I don't really know we can look into that later. Ready for our duel?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid you'll lose."

"Rather confident aren't you?"

"During my down time in the library I read up on the art of wizard dueling."

"Well, let's see what you learned. There is only one rule, no forbidden curses."

"Agreed. Don't worry Mrs. Figg, I have learned all proper counter curses as well as healing charms incase something happens to you."

"Don't sing it, bring it." They bowed and the duel had begun.

After about two minutes Mrs. Figg laid in a heap on the ground. Harry ran over to her to make sure that she was okay. "I warned her." Harry said to Fleur, who had also run over to be at her mentor's side. Harry quickly reversed everything that he had done to her and checked to make sure that nothing was broken. Feeling that she was alright he revived her with a quick healing charm.

"You okay?"

"Too fast, could barely put of a defense let alone an offense. Maybe I've been out of the game too long."

"I told you, I've been studying this. I knew what you were going to do before you even knew. After that it was a just a series of jinxes and curses to take you out of the game. Sorry about any pain you may be feeling."

"Harry, the only thing feeling pain right now is my pride. I was a top Auror and you defeated me with ease. I am happy to say that you have passed out of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Thanks, but are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine Harry."

"Okay, but I hope I corrected everything. I don't want you crapping out tadpoles in the morning."

"Why would you use that one?"

"Kidding, thanks for the duel."

"Congratulations Harry." Said Fleur before she walked out of the room.

"Thanks Mrs. Figg but I gotta go." He then ran over to Fleur. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine, why?" Responded Fleur.

"No reason, just the fact that you've been avoiding me."

"Sorry, it has been a busy first week. You did great Harry but now I have to prepare for class."

"Why are you acting this way? You're one of my best friends and now you are avoiding me at all costs. Tell you what, I'm meeting Gabrielle in the library tomorrow night and if you aren't there then we'll drag you out."

"Fine, I'll be there."

"Good, I'll see you tomorrow night. I gotta go, I don't want to be late for Snape. Bye Fleur."

"Bye Harry, good luck."

Harry quickly rushed down to the dungeons for his last exam of the day. He went into the room to find that Snape was not alone. Standing with Snape was Albus Dumbledore. He gave Harry a smile while Snape gave him a sneer.

"Mr. Potter, so nice of you to be on time." Snape said sarcastically.

"Sorry, my tests have been going long. Hello Headmaster."

"Hello Harry, how have your exams been going?" Asked Dumbledore.

"Good, so far. I've passed all three."

"Wonderful, are you ready for the Potions exam?"

"Yeah, but what are you doing here?"

"Can't the Headmaster be here Potter?" Asked Snape.

"Of course he can, but I was just wondering."

"I've come here to make sure your last exam goes smoothly, aren't I Severus?"

"Yes Headmaster." He seemed to bow out of the way and then redirected his attention back to Harry. "Get over there Potter!"

Harry walked over to a table that had a cauldron and many ingredients. He recognized many of them from their appearance but some were impossible to tell. He hoped he would be able to ask questions.

"Recognize everything Potter?" Asked Snape. Dumbledore had gone over to a stool in the corner of the room and appeared to be observing the test at a distance.

"Most, am I allowed to ask names of ingredients?"

"I told you Headmaster, he is not competent enough to do this."

"I'm plenty competent. It's just that some of these need labels."

"Fine Potter, you can ask me right now and only now." Harry then pointed at several ingredients and Snape rattled off their names rather quickly.

On his table he had many common ingredients but there were also just as many rare ingredients. Included among the many common ingredients were some rare ingredients like Ashwinder eggs, Billywig stings, an eggshell of a Chinese Fireball dragon, Mandrake meat, the exploding fluid of an Erumpment, Jobberknoll feathers, Lobalug poison, Re'em blood, and Salamander blood. There was also a small vile of Phoenix tears that Dumbledore had procured from Fawkes. Harry also recognized the various magical ingredients from Dragon's and Unicorn's.

"Okay, what am I supposed to do with all of these?" Harry asked.

"Make a potion, you do know what test you're at don't you?"

"Of course I do, but no potion uses all of these."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I'm positive. Some of these are for love potions, some for healing, while others for dark arts potions."

"Well, at least you know something about potions. Fine, your task today is to make any potion you like."

"I can make anything I want?"

"Yes, but it must meet my standards."

"That's unfair!"

"Why is it unfair?"

"I could make a great potion but you could say it's unsatisfactory. At least if you gave me a specific potion then I could have a basis to be graded on."

"Well, if you think you are a potions master then I would not think that this task would be that difficult. You should be able to come with a great potion very easily."

"Headmaster!" Harry yelled to Dumbledore to complain.

"It's fine Harry, I agreed to Severus' terms."

"Fine, how long do I have?"

"As long as you want, I want to give you as much time as possible to fail."

Harry began to grab various ingredients off the table and began to chop them into various sizes. He started the fire under the cauldron and threw in various ingredients. He then monitored his brew as he began to search around for more ingredients. Snape was watching in disbelief as Harry was grabbing various ingredients that shouldn't be mixed together. Snape thought that Harry had no idea what he was doing and began to laugh.

"What?" Harry asked when Snape laughed.

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

"I know exactly what I'm doing, you'll just have to wait and see."

"You know Potter, I'm not taking this potion. If you were planning on killing me off before I grade you then you are mistaken."

"Fine, I'll take the potion."

"I wish I could say it was nice knowing you."

Harry tried to ignore him as he began to through in more ingredients. It was now nearing dinner time and Harry was getting hungry. He felt like the potion should be ready judging by the various ingredients that were in the brew. Just to make sure Snape didn't say it was too runny he added some Flobberworm mucus to thicken it.

"Done." Harry proclaimed.

"What, we aren't going to be here for another few hours?" Said Snape rather snidely. "Okay Mr. Potter, what is your so called potion supposed to do?"

"It is supposed to boost your energy and make you light on your feet, I call it Gatorade™." Snape looked at him with a confused look but Dumbledore chuckled. Dumbledore had obviously spent some time in the Muggle world while Snape remained in the confines of his dungeon.

"I'm sorry, that probably wouldn't be a good potion name. Maybe the Supremacy Potion would be a fitting title. This potion will rejuvenate the drinker by giving them super strength, healing all of their wounds, making them light on their feet, and even giving them an increased resistance to magic."

"And you think your little concoction will actually work? What were your active ingredients?"

"Re'em blood for the strength, Billywig stings for the lightness of feet, Phoenix tears and Mandrake meat for healing, and Erumpment fluid for increased resistance to magic. There may be a downside to it though, with all of these ingredients I don't think the effects will last long."

"We shall soon find out, if your potion works and you manage to live then I just may pass you."

Harry was a bit worried, he felt confident his potion would work but he didn't know if some of the ingredients would have a bad reaction with each other. He took a spoon and dipped it into his brew and took a sip. Immediately he felt the effects, it was like nothing could hurt him.

"Well, at least you're still standing. Now prove to me it works. First, your supposed strength."

"What? Want me to smash something?"

"Yes, that chair you're sitting on."

Harry picked up the chair in his hands and easily began to crush it. Soon it was just a pile of rubble and Harry felt very satisfied.

"Very good, now your 'lightness of feet' as you put it."

Harry standing perfectly still and then jumped ten feet into the air and did a double back flip onto a worktable.

"Adequate, I'm guessing you didn't have any wounds from your earlier tests?"

"No, I wasn't harmed in any of them." Snape frowned.

"Well, we can't prove your potion heals then can we?"

"I guess not, so you better just hit me with a spell."

"What?" Snape was confused.

"We can't prove that part of the potion works so we'll just move to final part. I think the Erumpment fluid has given me a higher resistance to magic and I want you to hit me with a disabling charm."

Snape gave a smile at the opportunity to hit Harry with a charm. "If you insist Potter." 

__

Stupefy

The charm hit Harry's head but it didn't work. The only thing that it accomplished was to knock his head back.

"Is that all you got?" Harry was still feeling the effects of the potion.

"Your potion seems to be working perfectly but it appears to have a side effect."

"It does not! I feel perfectly fine."

"Headmaster, do you agree with me?" Albus Dumbledore got up and walked over to Harry.

"I'm sorry Harry, but I have to agree with Severus on this one." Said Dumbledore.

"What's the side effect?"

"You're not behaving normally. The potion appears to boost the users ego beyond control."

Harry collected himself, he had been acting differently. He was almost to the point that he wanted to have a fist fight with Snape just to prove himself. This was not like him at all. "Did I fail then?"

"No, but you must promise me that you'll never make that potion again. It may do everything you wanted to do but at too high of a cost."

"Fine, so can I go to dinner?"

"No, you will remain here with Severus and Myself until you calm down."

"You're probably right, got any food?"

"Haven't come across that in your studies?" Dumbledore asked.

"Err, no."

"Well, have Flitwick teach you some charms for food making when you meet with him." He then produced a plate full of sandwiches for the three of them to enjoy.

It was midnight before Dumbledore asked how Harry was feeling. "I feel normal, I guess." 

"Sounds good enough to me. Well Severus, did he pass?"

Snape raised his head. "Barely, and I still say this is a mistake."

"I know you do but I think you'll change your mind when you work with Harry."

"Looking forward to it Professor." Harry said sarcastically.

"Just as much as I am." Snape replied truthfully.

Dumbledore stopped Harry to tell him one more thing before he left. "Harry, since you have class tomorrow you don't have to start yet but I want you going on the private studies as soon as possible."

"Okay, my afternoon is free tomorrow Professor how does yours look?"

"Well, I was planning on doing something but if your forcing me to do this Headmaster then tomorrow afternoon will be fine. Don't be later Potter, just because you passed out of Potions doesn't mean you can't lose points for your house."

"Fine, I'll see you tomorrow." He then turned back to Dumbledore. "Thank you Headmaster."

"Congratulations Harry, good luck with your studies."

Harry rushed out of the dungeon desperately wanting to go to bed. He still had Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures in the morning and he didn't want to miss any of it. He especially wanted to ask Justin why he didn't tell him about making captain.

He had passed his tests and the worst of it seemed over. Except for the fact that once a week he would be forced to spend time with Snape while non of his friends were around. That is one thing he would never look forward to. Oh well, after today he could get through anything.


	8. School Really Begins

Chapter Eight – School Really Begins ****

Chapter Eight – School Really Begins

Harry had just got back up to his room when he found the message from Fleur waiting for him. It was far too late to check it in the room but he wanted to know what she wanted. He decided that since he would be losing sleep tonight already it would be fine to lose a little more. He picked up the little figure of Fleur and brought her down to the now empty common room.

"Yes, Fleur?" This activated the message.

"_Harry, I'm sorry that I haven't seen much of you this week. I just wanted to wish you luck on your exams tomorrow and I hope everything is going well. Cho has been talking about you a lot and I am very happy for you. You make such a cute couple. Let me know how things are going. Talk with you later._"

The transmission ended and Harry was a little confused. She was happy for Cho and him but then why did she run? Maybe she didn't want to interrupt their conversation. It was too late to think about this though as it was nearing one in the morning and he still had class in the morning. To think, he thought it would be easier having fewer classes.

The next morning Harry found himself being shook awake. "Huh, what's going on?" Harry found himself mumbling.

"Come on Harry, you have to get up!" It was Ron shaking him awake.

"Why do I have to get up?"

"We have Herbology in a half hour and as is you won't be getting any breakfast."

Harry sat up and looked around groggily. Sure enough, everyone but him and Ron were already gone. "Why do I always miss meals?"

"Maybe if you would get to bed at a decent time then you would get up in time for meals. I waited for you till midnight, how did your tests go?"

Harry got up and began to get ready. "I passed them all but I had to stay late for Potions. We can talk while we go, I want to talk to Justin."

"Fine, but you might want to put some pants on before you head out."

Harry looked down to see that he was indeed not wearing pants. "Hey, it was a long day yesterday and you don't hear the ladies complaining." Harry then remembered his conversation with Cho from the other day. He looked at himself in the mirror without his glasses on and wondered out loud, "Do you think I look cuter without glasses?" 

"Uh, sorry to tell you this Harry but I don't swing that way."

"Shut up Ron, Cho brought it up."

"She thinks you should stop wearing your glasses?"

"Yeah, she thought I might look cuter. Oh well, just a thought." They quickly rushed out of the portrait hole and bumped into Hermione.

"Hey Hermione." Said Harry.

"Hi Harry, how did your tests go?"

"I passed them all, I start with Snape this afternoon."

"Congratulations Harry!" Squeaked Hermione.

"Hey Harry, ask Hermione what you asked me earlier." Piped in Ron.

"Do you think I would look cuter without my glasses?"

"Are you trying to steal my boyfriend? Why would you be asking him a question like that?" Hermione said jokingly.

"Very funny, Cho brought it up and I am seriously thinking about going without them."

Hermione thought about it for a second. "I think you should stick with them for now. Besides, they are helping you out for now."

"I suppose." They had arrived at the Herbology greenhouse and got ready for class. Everything went as normal but there was something different about Professor Sprout. She seemed to be beaming more at Harry and he realized that the teachers must have talked about his accomplishments from the previous evening. Harry seized an opportunity to talk with Justin when Neville had spilt an entire bag of Moon Calf manure.

"Justin, why didn't you tell me that you're the Hufflepuff captain?"

"It didn't come up. How did you find out?"

"I had dinner with Cho the other night and she told me about it, congratulations."

Harry noticed that Justin became a little sad at that comment. "Thanks."

"What's wrong?"

"Becoming captain just makes me think about Cedric, so does Cho."

"I'm sorry about Cedric Justin, he was a good guy. He meant more to me than I even realized."

"He talked about you a lot. During the tournament, he didn't want any of us badmouthing you. By the way, on behalf of all Hufflepuff's we want to thank you Harry. What you did for Cedric was very kind."

"He would have done the same." Harry wanted to change the subject to avoid this conversation. He then noticed that some of the Hufflepuffs were missing. "Hey, why are there people missing?"

Justin looked around himself and seemed to come back to reality. "Hospital wing."

"What happened?"

"The Slytherins have been on a rampage recently. They have been having 'accidents' all over the place."

Harry had been spending all of his time in the library so he hadn't noticed what had been happening. He talked with a some other people and found out that there were a lot of little scuffles all over the place. Much to his surprise, the Slytherins didn't appear to want to win the house cup at all. Many of them were losing large amounts of points for Slytherin and were receiving detentions. Harry knew that he could take care of himself but he still worried about his friends.

"Hey Justin, you guys know that if you ever need help you can always count on a Gryffindor."

Justin gave a weak smile. "Thanks."

The class ended and soon they would be facing the Slytherins. Harry felt something brooding in his body and he feared that the potion from the previous night had a lingering effect. He slowly calmed himself down and made his way over to Hagrid's hut with Ron and Hermione.

They reached the hut long before the other students. The other Gryffindors appeared to be lingering and talking with the Hufflepuffs. Charlie came out of the hut and greeted the trio.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Asked Charlie.

"Fine." They all answered.

"Congratulations on passing your tests Harry."

"Thanks."

"Some of those creatures would have been hard for experienced wizards to get by and Professor Figg told me you got by them with ease."

"Just doing my job, so what's on the docket for the day?"

"Well, last week we met a Phoenix and today I thought we would meet the Irish Phoenix."

"Ah, I've always wanted to see an Augurey." Said Hermione.

"I thought it best to look at them before the rainy season. I don't think the students would appreciate its cry for long periods of time." Charlie then looked up towards the school. "Ah, here come the Slytherins."

Harry looked up towards the school and saw that all of the Slytherins were coming down towards the hut. Harry then noticed that standing at the door was Snape. This was the second time that he saw Snape leading the Slytherins down to class, what was going on? Maybe he could find out when he had his private study with Snape later.

Their lesson occurred without any consequence. They learned about the Augurey but weren't all that impressed. Last week they got to see a rare and beautiful bird and an Augurey was nothing compared to the real Phoenix. Oh well, have to learn about the boring creatures along with the interesting ones.

At the end of the lesson Harry was surprised to see that Snape was once again standing at the door of the castle. The Slytherins all filtered up to the door and flowed in to the building. The Gryffindors soon followed and joined the rest of the students at lunch.

Upon entering the Great Hall, Harry was surprised to see that Fleur was actually eating lunch with the rest of the Professors. She gave a smile and a wave to Harry that gave a rise to his spirits. It was good to have her around again. He then felt a couple of arms wrap around him from behind. Judging from the height of the grapple it could only be Gabrielle. Harry saw that Fleur was laughing.

"Hello Gabrielle." Said Harry without turning around.

"You haven't forgot about tonight have you?" Asked Gabrielle.

Harry turned around to confront his grappler. "Of course I haven't, I'll see you and your sister tonight. I'm counting on you to make sure she actually shows up."

"Don't worry, I'll make her come. What time should we meet?"

"How about right after dinner?"

"Sounds good Harry, we'll see you then." She then raced off and Harry turned his attention back to the Gryffindor table. He caught Godric's eyes and could see that he was once again looking very pissed.

"So meeting the Delacour's tonight?" Asked Ron.

"Yeah, I haven't seen much of them since school started."

"I thought you would spend your first night without studying with Hermione and me."

"I think you two can survive without me. In fact, remembering the other night I think you two would prefer that I wasn't around."

"Quiet Harry!" Squeaked Hermione.

Everyone finished their meal and got ready for their classes. Ron and Hermione would be going to Muggle Studies while Harry would be going to his first private study, Potions. 

"Good luck Harry, try not to kill each other." Said Hermione.

"Do you think they would send me to Azkaban if I did kill him?"

"If the jury knew who he was you may just get away with it." Joked Ron.

They all went their separate ways and Harry soon found himself in front of Snape's door. He knocked. "Come in Potter!"

Harry slowly walked in, he wished he had drank some of that potion so he wouldn't feel so nervous. It was possible that Harry was more powerful than Snape but for some reason he still felt intimidated. "Hello Professor."

"Come in Potter, my time may not be important to you but I value it."

"What would you like me to do?"

"Today, you'll be replenishing some of the ingredients that you wasted last night."

"Wasted?!"

"Yes, wasted. Those ingredients could have been used in useful potions instead of that shit that you made."

Harry couldn't believe it, a teacher had actually swore at him. "You're jealous!"

"Jealous? Jealous of what?"

"You're jealous that I was actually able to come up with a potion that you would never have been able to think of."

"Please Potter, that hodgepodge of ingredients could barely be called a potion."

"Well, what the hell was it then?"

"I would call it a fluke."

"I could do it again if you want. Maybe go a little slower so you can actually understand what's going on."

"You're pushing it, just because you think you are above everyone else doesn't mean it's true. I'm giving you a lot of slack right now and I don't think you should be wasting it."

"You say you're going easy on me? I find that hard to believe." At that moment there was a knock at the door and the fight was disrupted. It was Professor McGonagall.

"Severus I need to talk to you." She then noticed that Harry was in the room and that the two of them looked quite red with anger. "Oh Harry, am I interrupting your first session?"

"Believe me, it's a welcome interruption."

"Quiet Potter!"

"Severus! I don't know what's going on here but I think you two need to calm down." Huffed Professor McGonagall. 

"I'll calm down when he acknowledges the fact that I do have some talent." Said Harry.

"And I'll calm down the moment he leaves Hogwarts."

"Severus, I need to talk with you in private." Said McGonagall in a stern voice.

"Fine, Potter get started on those ingredients." Harry immediately began to grind up some Unicorn horn. Professor Snape and McGonagall went into Snape's office to talk in private.

Harry was in the middle of mincing some Dragon liver when something startled him. From the office came Snape's voice, "What?!" Then the conversation went back into to some low muttering that Harry couldn't hear. Professor McGonagall then burst out of the office and gave Harry a weak smile before heading out of the dungeon.

It took several minutes for Snape to finally come out of his office but when he did Harry could tell something was different. "Potter, make something for headaches and nausea." He then went back into his office. Harry didn't want to get into any trouble so he quickly made up a cure all potion for light health problems.

Harry walked into Snape's office a little apprehensively. He had never been in the office himself but Snape certainly thought he had been. Harry was surprised to see many rare ingredients lining the shelves of the small office. Several small cauldrons were cooking various potions that obviously had to brew for a while. "Err, professor?"

Professor Snape looked up at Harry and Harry was surprised to see that Snape's pale face seemed to be even paler. "Give it here." He grabbed a goblet and dipped it into the cauldron that Harry was carrying. Snape then gulped down the potion and sank back into his seat.

As much as he didn't want to ask Harry could tell that something was troubling Snape. Even though he didn't really consider Snape a fellow human being he thought it would probably be best to ask about what was going on.

"You alright professor?"

"I'm fine, now get back out there and replace those ingredients."

Harry was pissed with himself for even trying to reach Snape at a human level. He didn't see Snape for the rest of their scheduled time and when he was supposed to leave he left. 

"That was a waste of my time, I made one frickin' potion." Harry hoped that the rest of his lessons would go better. He didn't even care what was going on with Snape. Maybe McGonagall told him that he had an incurable disease and would die a slow and painful death. Hey, people can dream can't they?

Harry made his way back up to the Gryffindor common room to see if he could hook up with his friends before dinner. He glanced around the room and saw that all of his dorm members were in the common room save Ron. Ron being the guy he was looking for must be up in the room so Harry ventured up there. When he got to the door he found a sock on the door handle. Harry was very confused by this but just picked up the sock and tried to walk in the room. It was locked!

__

Alohomora

The door flung open and Harry heard a shuffling inside the room. Upon entering, Harry saw that Ron's curtains were quickly drawn shut.

"You alright Ron?"

"Dammit Harry, didn't you see the sock?" Replied Ron.

"Yeah, why did you leave it on the door handle." Harry, using his glasses, then peered into the curtains and saw what all the fuss was about. Hermione was putting on her shirt and so was Ron. "Oh, I am so sorry guys."

"Quit using those glasses Harry and get the hell out of here!"

Harry quickly ran down the stairs and hit the floor laughing. He must admit, he did tell them to get a room. By the time he had regained his composure he saw that most of the common room was now looking at him.

"I hope you didn't do what I think you did." Remarked Dean.

"If you think I just went into our room then you would be thinking what I just did." Harry said through his laughter.

"Didn't you see the sock?" Asked Seamus.

"Yeah, but I didn't know what it meant."

"I would have gone in but I couldn't get the door open. Then Dean told me that it meant someone in there wanted privacy for a while." Said Neville.

"How was I supposed to know?" Asked Harry.

"Didn't you mention having a cousin? Didn't he ever bring girls home?"

"Dudley? Girls?" Harry then went into another fit of laughter. This time, his joy was interrupted by Ron kicking him in the shins. "Ow, what was that for?"

"I can't believe you did that."

"How was I supposed to know what the sock meant?"

"Well, don't let it happen again." Harry then saw that a very red faced Hermione was coming down the stairs. 

"Sorry Hermione."

"I'm sorry too, but let's not talk about it."

"Okay, so maybe we can do what I came here to do in the first place. I was looking for you so I could go grab some food."

The three of them headed down to the Great Hall and did not say a word. Harry could tell that Ron and Hermione were both embarrassed about what happened and he knew that he probably shouldn't talk about it.

After the group started eating the tension seemed to ease. Harry told them about how boring his first lesson went and about what happened with Snape. Neither of them could come up with a good theory about what happened between him and McGonagall.

A little while passed and Harry thought he better go talk with the teachers before they left. He needed to find out who was available for the next day and hoped it would go better than tonight's lesson. 

"Excuse me, Professor McGonagall."

"Yes Mr. Potter?" Replied a rather distraught looking Minerva McGonagall.

"I was wondering if you had time available tomorrow to work with me."

"I'm afraid tomorrow will not work. Thursday would be a better day for me but I think you could start working with Professor Figg tomorrow. She told me before that her morning was available for a few hours."

"Great, so I'll see you on Thursday?"

"Very good, I'll see you then." Professor McGonagall then went back to stirring her stew.

Harry then went down the table to where Mrs. Figg was talking with Charlie Weasley. Harry didn't like having two people who knew about his personal life talking with each other, stories could be told that Harry didn't want others to know.

Mrs. Figg immediately saw Harry come down the table. Her years as an Auror had obviously sharpened her senses. "Hello Harry, how are this fine evening?"

"I'm good, and yourself?"

"I'm doing quite wonderfully, Mr. Weasley here was just telling me about your trip to the Quidditch World Cup. What can I do to help you?"

"I was wondering if we could start tomorrow? Professor McGonagall told me you had some free time in the morning."

"Yes, that should work. Fleur and I will see you tomorrow morning."

"Fleur?" Asked Harry.

"Yes, this is a rare opportunity and I think she would benefit from observing. Besides, from what she tells me you two have worked together on spells in the past."

"You got me there, I'll see you two tomorrow. Bye."

Harry then rushed out of the Great Hall but his forward momentum was hindered by a pair of hands grabbing his arm. Was he always being pulled in different directions? It seemed like that. Harry wasn't all that surprised to see that it was Gabrielle that had grabbed him.

"Where are you going Harry?" Asked Gabrielle.

"I was just heading down to the library to meet you and your sister. You didn't think I would forget did you?"

"Good, we can walk down there together."

"Where's your sister? I didn't see her at the staff table."

"She went down to the library early, she said she would see us there."

Harry and Gabrielle walked down to the library together talking about their days. They were nearly there before Gabrielle slapped her forehead.

"What?" Harry asked.

"I forgot to bring my books, talk about stupidity. Can we go up to my dorm quick?"

"It's your study time, I don't mind at all."

They quickly went up to the tapestry that Harry now recognized as being the home of the Ravenclaws. Gabrielle quickly ran in to get her books while Harry waited outside. In what was now becoming a trend he found his shoulder was being tapped, it was Cho.

"Hey Harry, waiting for me?"

"Actually, I'm going to help Gabrielle with some homework. We haven't really seen each other and I agreed to spending some time with her."

"Oh, and here I thought you were here to see me."

"Well, just consider it an added bonus."

Cho began to look Harry up and down now which kind of frightened him. "What?" Harry finally asked her.

"Have you ever tried to do something with your hair?"

"Lots of times, nothing works."

"Well, mind if I give it a try on Saturday?"

"Why would you want to do that?"

"I just want to give it a try, is that okay?"

"I have a feeling you will fail at it but you can try if you want." Harry then noticed that Gabrielle had appeared from behind the tapestry.

"Well, I'll let the two of you get to work. I'll see you on Saturday Harry." She then gave Harry a quick hug and went behind the tapestry herself.

"You know what?" Asked Gabrielle.

"What?" Asked Harry out of instinct.

"I think you might get lucky on Saturday."

"What?!"

"Not like that Harry, get your mind out of the gutter. But I do think she wants to advance the relationship."

"And why would you think that?"

"Girls can tell. Let's get to the library."

Gabrielle certainly had surprised him with that last comment. He didn't expect her say such a thing but he guessed that she didn't really have a normal family. When you are around Veelas you see a lot of affection and Harry guessed it was probably very common to talk about the subject.

They reached the library and found that Fleur was already studying. Harry walked over to her and peaked over her shoulder to see what she was reading. On the page she was looking at was a picture of a Lethifold. Wanting to have a little fun with her Harry pulled his cloak around Fleur's head just as a Lethifold would do to its prey.

Fleur let out a scream that Harry thought the whole school could hear. He quickly pulled off his cloak and gave Fleur a quick smile. 

"Very funny Harry."

"Sorry, couldn't resist." At that moment Madam Pince came from around the corner.

"What's going on here?" She asked.

"Sorry, just simulating a Lethifold attack." Harry quickly apologized for his actions.

"Well, if you do it again I'll see that you're banned from the library." She then turned and went back about her business.

The rest of the evening was spent helping Gabrielle with her new studies. Harry was entertaining the girls during their study breaks with his stories about his examinations and various other tales about his time at Hogwarts. Fleur seemed to return to her old self until Gabrielle brought up Cho.

"You have another date with her? I'm guessing things are going well then." Asked Fleur.

"She's a nice girl, it's just kind of sad that Cedric had to die for me to find out just what she's like." Answered Harry.

After the brief conversation about Cho Fleur seemed to become a little quieter. She would talk still but Harry and Gabrielle dominated the rest of the evening's conversation. It was getting to be very late at night and the library was closing so the group decided to end their study session. With Harry and Fleur's help Gabrielle got through her homework with ease.

Harry walked the two girls back to the Ravenclaw common room and gave them a couple of hugs before heading off to his own bed. He would be studying with Mrs. Figg and Fleur in the morning and then he would have a free afternoon. Maybe it would be a good time to go see Sirius, after lunch would probably be the best time. The rest of the students would be in class and he could safely navigate the halls.

The next morning Harry worked on some variations of spells used by Auror's. Mrs. Figg assured him that he had the makings of a great Auror and that he could easily handle the wizards that she had sent to Azkaban. It was near the end of their lesson that she told Harry something he wasn't expecting.

"I want you to learn the Unforgivable Curses."

"Why?"

"You must be prepared for anything. I'm not saying that you should ever use them but if you don't know them then your opponent will always have an advantage."

"If you say so."

"Besides Harry, do you know of any ways to counteract the Cruciatus Curse or Avada Kedavra?"

"Of course not, there aren't any."

"Maybe that's because nobody has been able to do it yet. I want you to try and do it Harry."

"How?"

"Well, we'll get to that later. You may be needing some help with it from Professor Flitwick but I can talk with him later. For now, I have to get ready for class. I'll see you later."

Harry then went over and said goodbye to Fleur. She had been observing the two of them going at it all morning with utter fascination. She knew that they were years beyond her and was amazed with what Harry was able to accomplish at such a young age.

Harry had lunch with his friends but was determined to leave as soon as possible to talk with Sirius. He had said that Harry couldn't visit him till the exams were over and since they were over Harry was going to spend all afternoon with his godfather.

He already had his invisibility cloak stuffed under his clothes so he simply headed down to Hagrid's hut while everyone else was heading up to get their books. Harry found that Charlie had taken his lunch down to the hut and was just finishing the meal. He thanked Charlie for everything he was doing for him and then put on the invisibility cloak.

Harry entered the inner door and then he heard something alarming. There was a conversation going on inside the bunker, one talking about Harry. He recognized the first voice as being Sirius' and the second voice belonged to "Mrs. Figg?"

"Ah Harry, we were just talking about you." Replied his teacher.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"I was just having lunch with an old colleague. I hope you don't mind."

"Old colleague?"

It was Sirius that answered Harry's confusion. "Arabella and myself were Auror's for the Ministry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about that but I guess it never came up."

"I guess it didn't." Harry sat in amazement. He had never known what Sirius did for a living.

"Well, I have class starting soon and I should really get back up there. I don't think Fleur is quite ready to fly solo right now. I'll talk with you later Sirius, and you too Harry." Mrs. Figg then headed towards the door. She pulled out an invisibility cloak of her own and waved goodbye before disappearing.

Harry was at least happy that he for sure had another person who could share his secrets. His inner circle was now growing and Harry knew that he could trust all of them. He and Sirius had a long conversation that night about everything that had been happening to him. Sirius seemed to know a lot about what was going on and agreed with Mrs. Figg about Harry learning the Unforgivable Curses.

Looking out the enchanted window Harry saw that night had come and that it was time for him to return to the castle. He said goodbye to Sirius and disappeared under the cloak. Hopefully, by this time tomorrow he would be able to transform into a different animal. Damn, he forgot to transform for Sirius. Oh well, that can be for another visit.

***

The rest of the week flew by and soon it was Saturday. During the week Harry learned how to transform into what he considered a very obvious creature. He had transformed into a King Cobra during his lesson with Professor McGonagall. It wasn't that surprising for Harry because of the link he shared with Voldemort. Now, not only could he converse with snakes but he could also become one of them.

Before the end of the lesson they made a quick trip to London to register Harry's stag form. He easily transformed for the proper authorities and they took pictures of his marking to be added to the very short list of Animagi. They were very impressed with his ability to transform at such a young age.

For Harry's first lesson with Flitwick Harry had a very unusual request. Dumbledore had given him the idea that he didn't know how to make food for himself and that kind of stuck with him because he had been missing meals so often this year. He and Flitwick worked together to teach Harry how to prepare different varieties of food. Harry learned that you needed to know the ingredients and cooking preparations in your mind before you could make the food. That is what Jean Luc had been putting into those cook books.

Saturday had come and Harry knew that he would be going on a picnic with Cho that very day. They had agreed to meet down at the lake. By the time Harry got down there Cho was already waiting with a basket in hand. Harry couldn't tell her that he could easily make the food for them because they had only been going out for a short time and Harry didn't quite trust her fully. Besides, he was told to keep it secret.

"Harry, ready to go?"

"Go, go where? Aren't we going to picnic here?"

"No, I have something else planned. Come on, we're going to Hogsmeade."

"Won't we get in trouble?"

"No, I have a pass to leave any time I want now. All the prefects just got one."

She grabbed Harry by the arm and rushed him out of the gates of Hogwarts. They traveled through the village until they reached a building that Harry never really paid any attention to.

__

Alfonso Barbarello – I can fix any hair, no challenge is too big.

"A wizard barber?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, your friend Hermione found it before. Haven't you noticed her hair isn't bushy anymore?"

"Yeah, but I thought she was using that cream."

"Nope, now lets go fix that mop of yours."

"You actually think he can help?"

"Couldn't hurt now could it?"

"I suppose not." Harry knew that he could probably correct anything that the barber may do so he wasn't all that nervous.

Cho sat Harry down and began to dictate what she wanted done with Harry's hair. In all the commotion that was happening he couldn't be sure what was happening to his head. Various spells and potions were being a put on his hair and it was almost an hour before he was able to look at himself in the mirror.

"It's straight!" Remarked Harry.

"You expected something else?" Replied Alfonso.

"Thank you very much Alfonso." Cho then paid the wizard barber for his services and escorted Harry out of establishment.

"What do you think Harry?" Asked Cho.

"I guess it's good, I'm not used to having neat hair."

"I think it is really nice. It looks very cute on you. You know what else would look cute on you?"

"No, what?"

"Me." Cho then planted a big kiss on Harry's lip. Wait what was that? It's her tongue!

Harry kind of stumbled backwards. "What was that for?"

"For being so cute. Come on, let's go eat some food."

They picnicked in an open meadow near Hogsmeade that afternoon. Cho told Harry all about her classes and about being a prefect. Harry tried to act surprised when she told him about the prefect's bathroom, but then he remembered that she already knew he had bathed in there. There conversation carried on like normal for a long time before a weird subject came up.

"Have you given any more thought to my suggestion?"

"Which suggestion?" Asked Harry.

"About getting rid of your glasses."

Still feeling the effects of kiss from earlier he heard himself blurt it out. "I already fixed them."

"You got them fixed?"

"Err, yeah." Harry realized that somebody his age would not be able to fix their own eyes. He made up a story about getting them fixed over the summer.

"Then why are you wearing your glasses?"

"For comfort, they don't actually have a prescription." Harry then took off his glasses. "Go ahead, walk over there and put up some fingers."

"I believe you, so will you not wear your glasses for a while to give it a try?"

"I tell you what, how about I not wear them when we're alone together."

"Sounds fair, now come here." Cho then planted another big kiss on Harry. This one lasted much longer than the first one and Harry even felt a little blood rushing towards his lower extremities. Not wanting to scare Cho he quickly got up and suggested that they return back to school.

That night it happened again. It had been a long time since his last wet dream and it kind of caught him by surprise. The last dream he had featured Fleur as a solo act but this time it was Cho making the solo appearance. He awoke in the middle of the night and quickly performed his cleansing charm on his clothes and sheets. That's when he noticed that Ron appeared to be missing from his bed. Harry put his glasses on and searched through the walls trying to locate his friend.

"Common room again? You two have got to find a better hiding place." Harry muttered this to himself as he was looking at his two best friends making out on one of the couches down in the common room. 


	9. Death of a Wizard

The weeks passed and soon it was a week before Halloween and the students first Hogsmeade weekend ****

Chapter Nine – Death of a Wizard

The weeks passed and soon it was a week before Halloween and the students first Hogsmeade weekend. Secretly, Cho and Harry had been going down to Hogsmeade almost every weekend thanks to Cho's pass. They were becoming very close and were soon almost to the level of Ron and Hermione at showing their intimacy.

Cho had soon convinced Harry to stop wearing his glasses all together. Now, the only time he ever wore them was to go down to visit Sirius. Speaking of Sirius, he and Harry had one of the funniest conversations imaginable. Harry had gone down to visit him one day towards the end of September and Harry began to tell him about Cho.

"Err, Harry. I suppose it's about time we had a little talk."

"Sirius, why are you acting so serious?"

"Well, since I'm your guardian I assume that it is my duty to talk to you about women. Harry do you know about protection?"

"From women? I think I could take Cho in a fight if that's what you're talking about." Harry knew perfectly well what Sirius was talking about but decided to have a little fun.

"You see, when two people get together and start to become intimate certain precautions have to be taken."

"Sirius, please stop. I know about these things, we had to take a health class back when I was at Muggle school."

Sirius seemed very relieved. "You did? Good, wizards don't usually talk about it till late in life and then it is usually too late."

"Well, I appreciate the effort. Speaking of women, when was the last time you were with one?"

"I don't think that I'm going to answer that if that's okay with you."

Harry tried to lay the guilt trip on him. "Fine, and I thought we were bonding here. If you don't feel comfortable talking with me then maybe I should just go back up to school. Maybe have some unprotected sex with Cho."

"Funny Harry, if it's really important to you then I'll tell you. The last time I was with a woman was a few months before going to Azkaban."

"Really, it's been that long?"

"Hey, when you're one of the most wanted wizards alive it's kind of hard to get a date."

"Depressing, I'll let it drop."

That was Harry and Sirius' conversation about women. One boy who learned it all while in school and a wizard that hasn't been with a woman in fifteen years. (A/N: Wasn't that interesting, I know.)

Other parts of Harry's life were also progressing besides his relationship. Although he wasn't seeing them as often as over the summer he was still spending a lot of time with the Delacour sisters. Because of a special request Harry was allowed to study with the Ravenclaw's in their common room. Thanks to this he was able to spend more time with Cho, Fleur, and Gabrielle. The four of them got along great and this made Harry very happy. Ron and Hermione were sneaking away more often. He rarely saw them apart aside from the time when the Gryffindors were practicing Quidditch.

The season was starting in a month and Harry felt that the team was coming along nicely. His Chasers were preparing Ron for the upcoming season and Ron was doing the same for them. They never had to practice against someone so big and quick before and it only made them train harder to try and get the Quaffle past him. The twins were slacking off a bit during the practice because of their now increasing business. They signed a deal with Zonko's and were now a producing some of their joke items.

Aside from his friends and Quidditch Harry still had his class work. Snape wasn't quite the same after their first lesson. For the most part he just let Harry do whatever he wanted and he just supervised. Harry came up with many new potions but for the most part they just went to waste. Snape would examine it, criticize it, then put it on a shelf in his office.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was coming along as well. He soon knew all of the Unforgivable Curses. He was forced to practice on engorged insects and winced every time he had to use the spells. He and Mrs. Figg came up with an idea when they were working together. Mrs. Figg brought up the idea of trying to use a shield charm against the curses.

"But the shield charm is too weak." Replied Harry.

"True, but I think you can find a way around it." Said Mrs. Figg.

"How?"

"The shield charm in its true form will block almost any low level spell. I have a theory that you can make a special shield just for certain spells."

"How would you do that?"

"By imbuing the shield with an essence of the spell itself. It's a long shot but it just may work."

With this theory they began to practice with various spells, all the while working up to the killing curse. 

Transfiguration was also coming along nicely. Harry was soon able to transform into various beasts of the animal kingdom. His proudest moment was when he became a Falcon. After that day he took whatever free time he could flying through the air as the bird.

The Monday before the big Halloween trip to Hogsmeade was when he received his first scare of the year. It was at breakfast that morning that a rather menacing looking owl dropped off a letter before Harry. Harry opened the letter and his jaw nearly dropped. Hermione picked up the letter and took a look at what had spooked Harry.

__

Potter:

The time is coming. Neither you nor your friends are safe. Be ready for death. Be ready for pain. The Dark Lord has risen and he's coming for you.

An Enemy

"Harry, surely this is one of the Slytherin's idea of a joke." Remarked Hermione.

"You don't think they want me dead too? The whole lot of them have been getting into fights all year. I didn't think it possible but they actually have negative house points."

"Well, if it is one of them then we should go to Dumbledore." Said Hermione.

"Come on, I'm sure it's probably just someone trying to scare him." Said Ron.

"Ron, I'm your girlfriend and you are supposed to agree with me."

"Well, you thought it wasn't real too."

"I thought about it, and I think we should take it as being serious." Said Hermione.

"It's okay Hermione, I think I'm big enough to take care of myself. Besides, nobody would try anything with Dumbledore around."

"You'll never change." Huffed Hermione.

The rest of the week continued without much incident. Harry continued to work on his private lessons with the professors. He wasn't making any progress in Potions, Snape seemed rather strange to Harry. The shield charm was coming along nicely, he was soon able to imbue the shield with various spells and was able to deflect them. However, he didn't want to risk testing it with the killing curse without more practice.

Snape wasn't the only professor behaving strangely. McGonagall seemed both giddy and sad at the same time if it is possible. Just this week she helped Harry to become almost an exact copy of her Animagi form. The only difference being their markings.

Soon it was time to go to Hogsmeade. Fleur agreed to stay back with Gabrielle so she wouldn't feel so depressed. Ron and Hermione agreed to meet Harry and Cho at the Three Broomsticks for some Butterbeers after a while. Harry and Cho seized the opportunity of their alone time by going up to the Shrieking Shack. During one of their weekly visits Harry had convinced Cho that there was nothing dangerous about the house and that it would be safe for them to use as a quiet place to get away from people. For the most part, they just used the privacy to make out. 

"Where are you going?" Asked Cho.

"I think I dropped my glasses on the road, go ahead and I'll meet you there." Replied Harry.

Harry made his way down the road towards where he was sure he last felt his glasses in his pocket. He began to search around but was not having any luck. However, his search soon ended. Somebody was coming up behind Harry, he had heard a twig snap behind him.

"Is that you Cho?" Asked Harry.

"No, but she's next." This made Harry jump around.

"It's you!" Gasped Harry.

Standing before Harry was a man he had seen before. The first time Harry saw him he was working for the Ministry. He had been sent to kill a Hippogriff named Buckbeak. The second time Harry saw him was just a few months ago. He was standing among his fellow Death Eaters about to kill the young boy. Yes, it was Avery that had Harry cornered.

"Surprised to see me?" Asked Avery.

"What do you want?"

"Why, I'm your executioner. Surely you've figured out that much."

At that moment Avery began to raise his wand. Harry knew what was coming, Avada Kedavra. Mostly relying on instinct Harry could feel himself going for his own wand. Just as Avery sent off his spell Harry had just raised his shield. They had never tested it on the killing curse before and Harry didn't know if he would survive.

All doubt was put to rest after a second. Harry opened his eyes when he realized he wasn't dead. However, lying in a heap on the ground was the body of Avery. The shield charm had deflected the curse back at its castor. 

Harry was quite relieved until he heard a voice yelling. "Murderer! Murderer!"

Coming up the street was a group of wizards led by a very distraught witch. Harry was about to say that he was alright but he soon realized that they were talking about him. A second later a group of Auror's surrounded him but still being in shock, he didn't have time to react.

__

Stupefy

Harry awoke and found himself in a room that looked like none he had ever seen. There were no lights yet it was bright in the room. There was no window but he could smell the outdoors. The ground appeared to be grass and he even saw a cricket moving through the blades. Where the hell was he?

Harry got up and walked over to the wall. Putting his hand to the material sent a shock through his arm. He jumped back a few feet and landed on his back. Harry knew that this wasn't a normal room and decided to wait to find out what was going on.

After a few hours Harry got impatient. He decided that if he couldn't touch the wall then he would just apparate through. He thought of the Three Broomsticks main room and was surprised to see that he didn't move. The room must be protected like Hogwarts. 

Finally, after another long while the room began to melt away. Harry saw that around where he had just been were ten wizards all with their wands drawn. Much to his surprise, he was still where he had been when Avery had attacked him.

"Harry, stay where you are."

Harry turned around and saw that it was Cornelius Fudge talking to him.

"Uh, what's going on here?" Asked Harry.

"We detained you until we could figure out for sure what happened here today."

"Where's Cho, is she alright?" Asked Harry.

"She's fine, but I don't think you should be worrying about her right now. Harry, you just killed a man." Replied Fudge.

"I only defended myself."

"If you were defending yourself then why did you kill him?"

"It was a counter-curse and I guess it rebounded on him."

"I'm sorry Harry, the only witness we have saw the curse come from you. We have to bring you up on charges on murder."

"What!?"

"We'll be bringing you to London to face a court of your peers. If you're innocent then nothing will happen and I hope that you will do nothing to make this worse."

"How could it get any worse?"

"All I'm saying is that the Auror's are instructed to kill if you make a move."

Harry was in shock, he had nearly been killed earlier and now he was being brought up on charges. All he could do was to nod his head. 

"I know you can apparate Harry, are you willing to apparate to Diagon Alley or do we have to take you by force?" Asked Fudge.

"I'll go, just tell my friends what happened alright?"

"I'll do that, I'm sorry about this Harry."

With that the large group all disapparated to London for Harry's trial.

A/N I know the updates are few and far between but I don't have as much time. Just be patient and they'll come.


	10. The Trial

Chapter Ten – The Trial ****

Chapter Ten – The Trial

Harry found himself in a room that looked all too familiar. He had last seen the courtroom when he was looking through the pensieve. Now, he sat there in real life instead of a memory. However, it all seemed like a dream. He was being charged with the murder of Avery and the only witness saw the final part of the confrontation. 

"Harry, how are you doing?" Harry was kind of in a daze but he recognized the voice of Albus Dumbledore.

"I didn't try, it was instinct." Harry could hear himself trembling.

"I know you didn't perform the curse Harry, don't worry you have a lot of supporters." He gave Harry a smile and then went to take his seat among the crowd.

Harry was sitting in the chair that he had seen other wizards occupied. Because of the severity of the crime they even placed him in manacles. He knew it was just precautionary but it still made him feel ill. 

Looking among the people in the stands Harry recognized many welcome faces as well as some unwelcome ones. The Delacour's and Weasley's all had troubled looks on their faces. The others there to support him were Dumbledore, Lupin, McGonagall, and Mrs. Figg. 

Also there were faces Harry wanted to spit at. The Malfoy's were there and Harry was surprised to see a little smirk on Lucius Malfoy's face. One of his friends had died and he was smiling? Also present for the trial was somebody who had been trying to get Harry thrown out for years, Snape. However, as far as Harry could tell he showed no emotion. 

"This trial shall begin, please keep quiet." Fudge had begun the proceedings. "Harry Potter, you are being charged with murder. How do you plead?"

This was happening a lot quicker than Harry expected. "Innocent."

"Very well, who is representing you?" Asked Fudge.

"I don't know, nobody…" Harry didn't have anyone to represent him. He was just standing there with his mouth open when Mrs. Figg stood up.

"I'll be representing him." 

"The court recognizes Arabella Figg as the Defense. Who will be representing the interests of Mr. Avery?"

"I am!" It was Lucius Malfoy.

"And for the Prosecution the court recognizes Lucius Malfoy. Okay, Mr. Malfoy you can call your first witness."

"Thank you Minister. I call Jezabelle Win to the stand." A woman stood up and Harry recognized her as the witness from the murder. She stood up and proceeded to tell the court about what she had witnessed that day. She had just finished her story when Lucius Malfoy once again broke in.

"You see, this could be nothing but murder. A boy craving power learns the most unforgivable curse and kills an innocent man. Did he do it for pleasure? I don't know and frankly I don't want to know. All that matters is that he did and should be punished for the crime. Thank you."

Harry was in shock, it looked as if he would be spending the rest of his life in Azkaban. He tried to speak but nothing came out of his mouth. Much to his relief Mrs. Figg stood up and began to speak.

"I would like to call my first witness."

"Very well, call your witness." Replied Mr. Fudge.

"I call Fleur Delacour to the stand."

Fleur stood up and left her family. It was at that time that Harry saw that there were no children in the stands. Aside from him Fleur was the youngest person in the room.

"Hello Fleur, how are you today?" Asked Mrs. Figg.

"A bit troubled, but that should be expected." Replied Fleur.

"Very true, now am I to understand that you weren't in Hogsmeade for the altercation?"

"That is true, I was at Hogwarts with my sister."

Lucius Malfoy shot up. "Then what the hell does this have to do with the case?"

"Character witness and background information, Lucius!" Sneered Mrs. Figg.

"Please continue Mrs. Figg." Said Fudge.

"Thank you. Now Mrs. Delacour, how do you know Mr. Potter here?"

"We are friends and I am his teacher."

"And what do you teach?"

"I am your assistant for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Does Mr. Potter attend class?"

"No, he has private lessons with you and me."

Once again Malfoy stood up. "Is this going anywhere?"

"Yes, now sit down!" Replied Mrs. Figg.

"Mr. Malfoy, I'll have to ask that you do not interrupt again or a new Prosecutor will take over." Said Fudge. Lucius Malfoy once again took his seat.

"Now Fleur, may I ask you what Harry was working on in these private sessions?"

"He has been trying find a way to block the killing curse."

"That is impossible, how can a boy accomplish such a feat."

"He is very gifted, I'm sure you're aware of that."

"I am, but others may not be. Now, can you tell me how he has been trying to do the impossible?'

"It all started with a simple shield charm but only Harry knows for sure what he can do. We were unable to test the charm with the severe curses but Harry was able to block many other spells."

"What happens when Harry blocks a spell?"

"It generally is deflected away from Harry."

"So, could Harry simply have deflected Mr. Avery's own spell back at him?"

Malfoy shot up. "This is absurd! There is no way to prove that such a spell even exists let alone it did what you're theorizing."

"There are two ways to prove it is possible. One may kill somebody and the other is very simple."

"By all means, let's do the simple one." Said Fudge.

"Can I have a look at Mr. Potter's wand?" Harry's wand was brought out to her and she examined it thoroughly. She whispered the prior incantum spell and an orb appeared around her. Well, not a true orb but that of its shadow.

"This proves nothing, he may have simply cast that after the killing curse." Said Malfoy.

"Very well, if you want more proof then can I see Mr. Avery's wand?" Avery's wand was also brought out and Mrs. Figg examined it much like she had examined Harry's. She performed the prior encantum spell and a green spell came out. The ghost image of the killing curse was enough to make several witches and wizards faint.

"Is this enough proof for you Malfoy?" Asked Mrs. Figg.

Malfoy looked defeated. "Very well, the charges are dropped."

For the first time in a long time Harry cracked a smile. The manacles that had been holding him dropped off his wrists as a group of people surrounded him. He received many hugs from Fleur and even a kiss on the cheek. Harry saw that she hadn't meant it and shied away to the back of the crowd. 

Harry was relieved and for the first time since the altercation he had a chance to think. Avery had come to kill him, why was he sent alone?


	11. A Seeker Falls

Chapter Eleven – A Seeker Falls ****

Chapter Eleven – A Seeker Falls

It had been nearly three weeks since the trial and Harry still didn't have a clue why Avery had tried to kill him. The death threats had stopped so Harry could only assume that Avery was the source. His studies were progressing. He was soon given a break from Transfiguration as he had mastered the skill. He had got to the point where he was able to transform into any animal at will. He only needed to see what an animal looked like or to recall one from his memory. Professor McGonagall had even decided to take a sabbatical so Professor Dumbledore took over her course work.

Potions even took a turn towards the positive. Snape had started to take interest in Harry's abilities after the trial. It would seem that Harry being able to do the impossible was all it took to convince Snape that he was worthy of instruction. What would it take to convince him that Harry was an equal?

A new theory was brought up for Harry in Charms. He had nearly forgot about his first year at Hogwarts, when he was visiting the Mirror of Erised. Dumbledore so much as told him that he was able to become invisible without a cloak. Professor Flitwick told Harry that a few wizards had mastered the ability to do just that and Harry was intrigued. No longer would he have to use the cloak, he would be able to pass it onto somebody who may be needing it. His first thought was that of Ron and Hermione, if they were caught making out it would be bad for Hermione's image. That and the fact that Ron's mom would kill him.

After a few days of trying it out Harry was able to make his body appear translucent. It would take a few more days in order to perfect it but for the time being it would be very useful during the evening hours.

Since the incident the work in Defense Against the Dark Arts had slowed down. Not only did they not know where to go from there but they also wanted Harry to rest. They spent their time talking with each other; Harry, Fleur, and Mrs. Figg. Mrs. Figg would talk about the old days, before Voldemort. Fleur would talk about growing up in France and her unique family. Harry told his tales about his times of mortal peril and his days with the Dursley's. He nearly choked when he realized that he was talking about the time he found Dudley watching a porno down in the living room.

"Oh Harry, we're all adults here." Said Fleur.

"Still, I know the boy and that is a very disgusting story. How could he even reach it?" Asked Mrs. Figg.

"You're making me think about it and I don't want to. Please, let's change the subject." Said Harry.

"Very well, Fleur tells me that you are seeing a Ravenclaw girl named Cho. How are things going?"

"I broke up with her last night." Said a very sullen Harry.

"What?!" Fleur was shocked.

"She's in love with somebody else and I just found it out the hard way last night."

It was at that moment that Fleur noticed a few things about Harry. His hair, which had been well kept the last few weeks, was now back to its disheveled appearance. Also, he was now wearing his usual glasses on his face.

"Harry, what happened?" Asked Fleur.

Harry looked at Mrs. Figg. "Um, no offense to you but it is a little weird discussing this in front of you."

"Oh, but you can tell me about when Dudley spanks it? I'm kidding Harry, I'll give you kids some privacy."

"Thank you."

Mrs. Figg got up from the desk and walked into her private office. Harry knew she wouldn't eavesdrop but still he had to be sure. He performed a silencing charm around the door so that no sound would reach her ears.

"Okay, you have to promise that this doesn't get discussed with anyone."

"I promise Harry, but do Ron and Hermione?"

"Sadly, Hermione knew before I did. She wanted me to be happy so she just dismissed her theories and decided to be just as blind as I was."

"Okay, I just wanted to know who was allowed to know about it."

"Yes, Ron and Hermione do know about it but I hope that this doesn't become a topic for open conversation."

"Fine, just tell me already."

"I'm sure you've noticed my hair and glasses over the last few weeks. These were some suggestions from Cho about how to make me look cute."

"But you're already cute."

"Don't I know it, but you do have to admit that my hair is a mess."

"Fine, it is a mess but it's you."

"I know, but I gave into her. After all, she was my crush. Anyway, she had been making these suggestions to me over the last few weeks and she seemed really happy with the results. In fact, she was so happy that I have even been getting some lately."

"Um, I think you can stop there." Fleur was noticeably uncomfortable.

"Hey, you're my friend and you wanted to know. Relax, I won't go into too much detail. Anyway, so we had been getting more intimate recently. Well, last night I got to what we call third base. Are you familiar with this term?"

"Um, no."

"Well, let's just say that last night I touched a spot that gives women extreme pleasure."

"Oh." Fleur began to blush.

"Yeah, so that's what happened last night. For almost any other guy it would have been great but for me it was horrible."

"Why?"

"She called out Cedric's name when I did it. It was at that moment when I began to think about the glasses and the hair. Hell, I should have realized that I had Cedric's haircut. Anyway, that's when I realized that I was being molded to replace him. I told her that this was too soon for her and that she should take some time to grieve. She obviously wasn't as over Cedric as she thought she was."

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry."

"Hey, I can now say that I've had my first girlfriend." Harry looked a bit sad but also a bit relieved.

"You don't seem to be taking it as bad as I thought you would."

"You know, I think I was dating the crush instead of the girl. She was a great girl but not the one for me. I guess her calling out another guys name was just what I needed to realize that we weren't right for each other."

"Well, if you think it's for the best then I'm glad it didn't go any further."

"I do hope you know that I probably won't be stopping by the Ravenclaw common room any time soon. Tell Gabrielle that I can meet with her any time she wants in the library."

"I'll let her know, and I won't tell her that you and Fleur broke up."

"She's a lot smarter than you think, she'll probably figure it out on her own fairly soon."

The two of them continued to talk for a while longer before Harry felt it was time to head back to the common room. He told Ron and Hermione that he would be coming up and meeting them for lunch.

"So Harry, how are you feeling today?" Asked Ron as he took a big bite out of a sandwich.

"I'm alright, I was able to think it out rationally and I realized it was for the best." Harry then looked over at the Ravenclaw table and didn't see Cho. He knew that he had hurt her but he also knew that she was living a lie.

"I'm so sorry Harry, I wanted to tell you about my fears but you just seemed so happy." Said Hermione.

"Don't worry Hermione, you didn't do anything wrong." Harry then felt a tap on his shoulder, it was Dumbledore.

"Harry, I just thought I would tell you that you will be having your Transfiguration time as scheduled."

"Is Professor McGonagall back from her trip?" Asked Harry.

"No, I will be instructing you from now on."

"You will?"

"Yes, you've gone as far as you can with Professor McGonagall and I'm going to take you to the next level." Dumbledore then went back up to the head table and took his seat between Snape and Mrs. Figg.

"You get to learn from Dumbledore himself!" Hermione was almost more excited than Harry.

"Hey, you do too. He's teaching your classes or have you already forgot?" Harry reminded her.

"I know Harry, but he's just following McGonagall's lesson plan. He's going to be doing stuff with you that almost no other wizard will be able to do."

"Hey, I wasn't saying that I'm not excited. Still, I have no idea what we're going to do. I'm already able to change into any animal I can think of."

"Hey, the inferior wizards are within earshot." Piped in Ron.

"I wasn't bragging."

"Could have fooled me. So, are you pumped for Saturday."

"Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff, who wouldn't be? I want to see what Justin has been able to do with the Hufflepuffs. That, and that it's been over a year since I've seen or been in a Quidditch match." Remarked Harry.

Harry then noticed that Gabrielle was coming over to the Gryffindor table. This wasn't all that strange because she was seeing Godric a fair amount and would often come over and talk with him. This time was different though because Godric was further down and on the other side of the table. It was obvious that she was coming over to see him.

"Hello Harry, I'm sorry about you and Cho." Said Gabrielle.

"Did your sister tell you?" Asked Harry.

"No, you don't have to be too observant to notice a girl skipping a day of classes to cry in her room."

"Maybe I should go talk with her."

"No, I think you should give her some time. Some of her roommates are in there with her now and they probably would rip you a new one for what you did to her."

"Do you feel like that?" Asked Harry.

"No, I know you better than that. I know you wouldn't intentionally do anything to hurt Cho."

"Are you sure you're a first year?" Asked Hermione.

"When it comes to relationships I know a lot more than most adults. Veelas have a certain knack for the subject. As for the other stuff, that is the other reason why I came over here. Harry, we have a Potions test on Monday and I'm having trouble with the material. Do you think that you could help me with it this weekend?"

"Sure I can, when do you want to work on it?"

"Can we start Saturday morning?"

"Um, Saturday may not work. The first Quidditch match of the season is on Saturday and I should really see how Slytherin and Hufflepuff look."

"Harry, that's why you have a strategist." Piped in Hermione.

"We have a strategist?" Asked Ron.

"Me, dummy." Said Hermione.

"Since when?" Asked Ron.

"Harry asked me at the start of school when you guys started practice. I've been helping him come up with some of the plays you've been doing in practice."

"Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"Well, haven't you been seeing me writing plays?" Asked Hermione.

"I thought you were doodling."

"Guys!" Yelled Harry, loud enough to attract the attention of a few people around him. "Ron, she's our strategist because I knew she would be able to come up with some original plays. We didn't tell you because some of the people on the team would probably feel a little strange taking orders from her."

"Yeah."

"Well, I could have kept a secret." Replied Ron.

"Ron." Said Harry.

"Fine, I would have said something. I'm only human."

"Anyway, as I was saying earlier before Ron interrupted. You have me there so you don't need to be there. I tell you everything that happens and I'll even develop some plays to counteract the two teams. You go help Gabrielle with her test."

"Well, it looks as if you have a tutor for Saturday Gabrielle." Said Harry.

"Thank you everyone." Gabrielle then threw her arms around Harry and ran off towards the door. Harry looked over to make sure that Godric hadn't seen this display of affection. Harry knew that Godric hated it when Gabrielle hugged him.

"Damn, he saw." Said Harry as he looked down the table. Godric had turned beet red and almost seemed to have smoke coming out of his ears.

"What's his problem with you Harry?" Asked Ron.

"As far as I can tell it's because of Gabrielle. He likes her and she hugs me in front of him."

"Have you ever asked him about it?" Asked Hermione.

"I tried once but he didn't tell me anything."

"Well, he does have one thing going for him." Said Ron.

"What's that?" Asked Hermione.

"He's not a Slytherin." Replied Ron.

Harry once again tried to work on his invisibility charm with Flitwick. By the end of the most recent session he had nearly perfected it. He had got up to the level of his cloak but there were still some problems. The light around him didn't bend perfectly and as such it seemed like he was a body of water. Although it may work in a pinch, he could be easily detected if someone were searching for him.

As for Transfiguration, Harry wasn't sure what was going to happen in there. As far as he could tell he was able to turn into any animal he wanted to, what else was there?

"Harry, can you turn into a chair?" Asked Dumbledore.

"I've never tried that sir."

"Well don't start now, you and Professor McGonagall can work on that when she gets back."

"What are we going to work on then?"

"Harry, can you turn into any animal you want?"

"Name an animal and chances are I can turn into it."

"Okay, turn into a Polar Bear."

Rather easily, Harry turned into a twelve foot Polar Bear. Like always, a mark of a lightning bolt was on his brow.

"Very good Harry, now turn into Kangaroo."

Once again, Harry transformed as requested.

"Splendid, now turn into me."

Immediately Harry transformed back into his old self.

"What?" Harry asked.

"I asked you to transform into me."

"I can't do that."

"You said you can transform into any animal and am I not an animal?"

"No, you're a human."

"Still, humans are animals just different."

"Fine, but I can't do it."

"Nor did I expect you to. We'll leave that for later. For now, turn into a dragon."

"But a dragon is a magical creature, they aren't a normal animal."

"True, but they are still creatures and you should be able to transform into one."

"Very well, I'll try my best. I'm only going to do a small transformation as a full dragon would crush this room."

"Fine."

Harry, with great effort, began to transform into the great beast. He had decided to take on the form of an adolescent Chinese Fireball. Much to his surprise it was very easy for him.

"Very good Harry, now breath fire."

Harry once again switched back to his human form.

"I can't do that."

"That is what I'm going to be teaching you Harry. When I'm through with you you'll be able to transform into any magical creature and will be able to perform their abilities."

"How can I do that?"

"Simple, you'll have to learn about their abilities before you do the transformation. If you know how to perform appropriate spells then you'll be able to have the creatures abilities."

"I'm confused."

"Think about it, are you able to produce a fireball with your wand?"

"Yes."

"Then why can't you perform one as a dragon?"

"Because I'm not holding my wand."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'll let you think about this for a while. The real training will start next week."

Harry returned to the common room still pondering what Dumbledore had been talking about. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he bumped into Godric while going through the room.

"Hey Godric, I just saw your Grandpa."

"Good for you." Replied Godric before turning away from Harry. Harry made a grab for his arm.

"What's your problem?"

"You are, it is always you."

"What do you mean?"

"I hate you, I've hated you for as long as I can remember. You've brought me nothing but pain."

"What do you mean?"

"Just leave me alone!" Yelled Godric before slipping out of Harry's grasp and making a dash for the portrait hole.

"What the hell was that about?" Harry asked himself.

The day of the first Quidditch match quickly came but Harry would be missing it to help out his friend with her studies. He desperately wanted to be there but he found Gabrielle's company very soothing. Besides, with his help she was soon grabbing the concepts very easily. Harry felt good that he could help her, he felt good helping anyone.

"Think you're ready for the test now?"

"Yeah, thanks Harry."

"So, why isn't your sister helping you?"

"I don't know, she said she was busy. She's been acting very strange this weekend.."

All of a sudden Harry could hear running come towards the library. It started off very faint but it was soon becoming very loud. Harry was surprised to see that it was Ron and Hermione.

"What's going on?" Asked Harry.

"He's dead Harry!" Cried Hermione.

"Who's dead?" Asked Harry.

"Justin Finch-Fletchley." Said Ron. 


	12. Expulsion

Chapter Twelve – Expulsion ****

Chapter Twelve – Expulsion

"What the hell are you talking about?" Asked a confused Harry.

"Justin just died, it's horrible Harry." Said Hermione.

"Was it an accident?" Asked Gabrielle.

It was Ron who answered. "I'll give it to you quick. Slytherin was crushing Hufflepuff but Justin had just spotted the Snitch. He was making a dash for it but just before he got there…"

"What, what happened?!" Asked Harry.

"Goyle cut him off and crushed his skull with the beater club."

"What?!"

"Harry, I've seen people get hit with clubs and it was nothing compared to what happened to him. Madame Pomfrey couldn't do anything to help, he was already dead."

Harry got up and immediately ran out of the library. The others tried to chase after him but there was no chance. Before their eyes he had transformed into falcon and was soaring down the hall. It was fortunate for Harry that everyone was at the match or otherwise he was sure to have been spotted.

Harry found an open window and immediately flew out to the Quidditch Pitch. He flew overhead and surveyed the scene. A group of students were crowded together and were trying to comfort each other. Harry could see the Slytherins being escorted off by Snape back to the castle. Using his keen eyes he saw that Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey were hovering over Justin's body. At that moment Dumbledore stared directly at Harry and it nearly made Harry fall out of the sky.

__

Harry, I need your help down here.

It was Dumbledore's voice inside of his own head. This is something that Harry had never read about in any of the countless books he had read. He wondered if Dumbledore could read his thoughts as well as projecting his own.

__

Yes, if you focus on me then I can read your thoughts.

But how?

We can discuss that latter, for now I need your help.

There are too many people down there, they'll see me.

Just land on my shoulder, they won't recognize you.

Harry hoped that nobody would notice the lightning bolt on his head. He knew that Malfoy had to know about his extra powers but he didn't want the other students to know. He quickly swooped down and landed on the shoulder of Albus Dumbledore.

__

What do you think Harry?

I can't believe this happened. I know Goyle is strong but from the looks of this he isn't human.

You're thinking the same thing I am. What happened to Justin is beyond human ability.

So, what are you suggesting?

The most obvious explanation would be that Mr. Goyle took a strength enhancing potion.

That isn't possible.

Oh really, why not?

Goyle is as dumb as rocks. It takes a highly trained wizard to create a strength potion.

You made one if memory serves me.

Well, I'm different aren't I? Are there any other possibilities?

None that are reasonable. We'll go test him for any traces of the potion. Hopefully Professor Snape will be able to detect any signs.

Snape!

Harry, don't even think that.

Snape is the only other person besides you and myself that could have made that potion.

I'm telling you to drop it, Severus had nothing to do with this.

If you say so.

Harry took one last look at Justin's body and took flight. Madame Pomfrey looked quite confused about the long silence of Dumbledore while a falcon was on his shoulder. As Harry flew up to the owlery all he could think of was Snape. There were no other explanations for what happened, Dumbledore so much as said it himself. It had to have been a potions master that made the strength potion and there were very few at Hogwarts. It would only make sense that Goyle would get it from the head of his house.

"You think it was Snape?" Asked Ron.

"What do you mean, of course I think it was Snape."

"I agree with Ron, we've thought it was Snape too many times. Every time we've been wrong about him."

"But what if it really is him this time?"

"I think the last few years have finally got to you." Said Ron.

"What do you mean?"

"You keep thinking that Snape is against you but there is nothing really there. I agree that he's a first class jerk but I doubt he gave Goyle a strength enhancing potion."

"Fine, I'll just have to confront him myself."

"Harry, don't." Said Hermione but she was too late. Harry had already rushed out of the portrait hole and was making his way down to Snape's office. Using his knowledge of the passages he was there within a couple minutes and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Came the voice from inside.

"Harry Potter, I need to talk with you."

Snape opened the door. "Ah Harry, just the boy I wanted to talk with."

"Yeah I wanted to talk with you….what did you call me?"

"Harry, it's your name isn't it?"

"Um, yeah I suppose it is." Harry was a little confused. "I wanted to talk with you about what happened to Justin."

"That's also why I wanted to talk with you."

"Is this some kind of trick?"

"I'm afraid I'm not following you."

"First you call me Harry and now you're also being nice to me. For the last four years you've made my life a living hell and now you're being nice? What's the deal?"

"It's too complicated to discuss right now, let's just say that I've experienced some changes lately."

"No, I'm not just going to leave it at that. Tell me what's going on or I'm going to the ministry with your name on a very short list of people who could make that potion."

"You think that I did it? Why you sniveling little twit."

"There's the Snape I know, back from vacation?"

"Just stop. You don't know when to quit do you Potter?"

"Potter? I thought I was Harry."

"If you act like this then you're Potter. Now shut up so I can explain myself."

"Oh, please do. I need some entertainment after this afternoon."

"You're lucky that I don't think of you as a student anymore or else I would be giving you the biggest detention of your life."

"What do you mean you don't think of me as a student?"

"Let's just say that I think of you as an equal in my field. Now can I talk?"

Harry was now more confused than before. Snape thought of him as an equal?

"In a few months time I shall become a father."

"Who would be stupid enough to fall for you?"

"Potter!"

"Fine, the old you."

"I guess I can give you that. I'm sure an observant boy like you can figure it out if he knows what to look for."

Harry sat and thought it out. The strange conversation, the mood swings, and now the extended absence. "Professor McGonagall!"

"Yes, Minerva."

"How the hell did that happen?"

"I don't think that I will be discussing that with you."

"Aren't I your equal?"

"In some things yes, as a confidant about my love life you are still Potter."

"Fine, so you're going to be a father. How did that change you?"

"Let's just say that you reevaluate your life when you have another person to look out for. Now, do you understand."

"I guess I can accept that, now can we discuss why I came down here."

"You came down here to accuse me of helping with the murder of Mr. Finch-Fletchley."

"Fine, I'll hold off on the accusations for now. So, was it a strength enhancing potion?"

"Yes, and very similar to the one that you created."

"How so?"

"What is the biggest drawback to a strength enhancing potion?"

"It makes the body more dense and more than doubles the weight of the recipient." 

"Was that the case with your potion?"

"No, mine had Billywig stings in it which made the person lighter."

"So did the potion that Mr. Goyle used."

"But I had to add a bunch of ingredients to make those ingredients combine. It would be almost impossible for anyone but a potions master."

"Do you know what I spend my free time doing Harry?"

"Back to Harry, eh? I have no idea."

"I try to recreate the potions that you make during our sessions. I can do some of them but the first potion you made I haven't come close to duplicating. I'm guessing that there are fewer than ten wizards that could create the potion used today."

"Well, then there are only a few suspects."

"That is true, but we don't have enough evidence to go to the Ministry."

"So what's going to happen then, aren't we going to do anything."

"The only thing we can do is to expel Mr. Goyle. He's too young and stupid to go to Azkaban so he will spend the next few years at St. Mungo's for observation."

"Wait, wasn't I going to be sent to Azkaban?"

"If you were convicted you would have been sent there. Like I said, Goyle is too young and stupid. You, on the other hand, have powers greater than most wizards alive today."

"Yippee. Well, at least I can't be tried as an adult in the Muggle world."

"It is getting late now, but I was hoping that you could help assist me analyze the exact ingredients of the potion."

"Sure. Oh, and congratulations on becoming a father. Ever thought of naming him Harry?"

"Potter!"

"Hey, Potter works too I guess."

The events of Saturday afternoon had really shaken Hogwarts. The Hufflepuff's moods were at an all time low. They had lost another leader less than half a year after losing Cedric. The Ravenclaw's and Gryffindor's were also feeling the effects. Justin was a kind person and was well liked by almost everyone. The people that didn't like him were all members of Slytherin. They seemed to be walking with an extra skip in their step.

Over the first few days after the death the Slytherins decided to display their power by beating up any individual they came across. It didn't matter if they were Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw. Harry knew that the majority of his friends could take care of themselves but he feared for Gabrielle's safety. He had taken to walking her to everyone of her classes. She didn't seem to mind but it was obvious that Godric was severely bothered by this. Harry didn't care though, he just wanted to make sure that his friend was safe.

It was Thursday afternoon when Harry realized that people seemed to be happy walking the halls again. Well, not really happy but they didn't have the look of fear in their eyes. He had slept in that day so he didn't have any idea what was going on. He spotted Dean Thomas at the end of the hall and decided to ask him what was going on.

"The Slytherin's are under house arrest."

"Why?"

"Snape has been trying to control them lately but it hasn't worked out. He finally asked Dumbledore to implement a house arrest on them."

"So, what does that mean?"

"The teachers are going to go there to instruct the students, the Slytherins won't be out in the halls anymore. They can barely leave their common areas for anything, if any of them do need to leave then they will be escorted by several teachers."

"Are you serious? What about Quidditch?"

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this Harry but they canceled the rest of the games."

"Because of Justin?"

"Yeah, Dumbledore felt it would be the right thing to do."

"I guess so, but I really wanted to play. Wait, Slytherin no longer has class with us?"

"Nope, and they have to change everyone's schedule to accommodate for teachers having to instruct them alone. We now have Care of Magical Creatures with Ravenclaw."

Harry felt his stomach tighten. "Ravenclaw?"

"Yeah, you look like somebody just hit you in the stomach."

"You think I look bad now, wait till class." Great, just great. Now I'll have to see Cho on a regular basis. 

Harry had been given some time off from his studies for the week after the incident. This was mostly for the benefit of the instructors. They had a lot going on and needed some time to recoup. Harry spent his time working on his invisibility and is proud to say that he has perfected it. He decided to wrap up his cloak and would give it to Ron as an early Christmas present.

"Merry Christmas." Said Harry as he handed the package to Ron.

"You dolt, Christmas isn't for a few weeks."

"I know, but I think it would be better if you had this sooner rather than later."

Ron eagerly opened the package. He looked shocked as he held the cloak in his hands. 

"But Harry, this belonged to your dad."

"Yes, and I'm entrusting it you for the time being. This is not a permanent gift, rather it is a lone."

"But won't you be needing it."

__

Invisiblis

"You bastard, I thought you were telling us everything."

"Hey, I have to have some secrets. Besides, this one took me a long time to get right. I only just got it down a few days ago."

"Where are you, I don't like talking to you while I can't see you."

"I was just going to pop up to the girl's dormitory and watch Hermione change."

"You do and you die."

"You're too gullible. You honestly think I would do that?"

"I honestly think you have done it."

"What do you mean?"

"Hey, I've heard you creep off in the middle of the night before. I know you've been going off to spank it while watching the girls."

"Bullshit, I've never done that. I'd never even masturbated till this summer."

"Now that's bullshit. You can't expect me to believe that."

"Hey, it's true. I did it for the first time when I was at Fleur's."

"Woah, woah, wait a minute. Do you have the hots for Fleur."

"Hey, I never said that."

"No, you just said that you masturbated with her down the hall from you. You're trying to tell me that you didn't do it because of her?"

"I'm not going to say anything because anything that is told to you will be told to Hermione."

"You don't think I can keep something from her?"

"No, not a snowball's chance in hell."

"Fine, then I'm for sure going to tell her what you said." Ron then threw on the invisibility cloak and Harry realized he wasn't wearing his glasses. Rather than trying to guess where Ron was Harry decided to let him go. Harry knew that it wouldn't be hard for Hermione to figure out his feelings for Fleur. He had been missing her lately and he couldn't deny it.

It had been during one of his trips down to see Sirius that he and his godfather talked about the subject. Harry came to the realization that he liked her. There was no denying that he had feelings for the girl but there was also no proper protocol for asking out a teacher.


	13. The End of Term

****

Chapter Thirteen – The End of Term

Harry was enjoying his breakfast with his friends a few days before Christmas Break when a letter came for him. He set it aside for a moment while he talked with Ron and Hermione. Everyone seemed to be in a better mood now that the Slytherins were forced to take their meals in their own dormitory. In fact, there was a complete breakdown of house division. Instead of everyone sitting according to their house the students were mixing with each other. Because of this, Gabrielle was now sitting in between Harry and Godric.

Harry had finally got a straight answer out of Godric about why he seemed to hate Harry so much. It seems that being one of the most powerful wizards alive had prevented Albus Dumbledore from seeing his grandchildren that often. In fact, Godric could only remember seeing his grandfather three times in his life and the last time all he could do was to talk about Harry Potter. He seemed to love Harry more than his own relatives and this infuriated Godric. He had spent a large part of his life hating the Boy Who Lived and had marked him even before talking to him. Luckily, their mutual friend had made them try and reconcile. For the time being Godric seemed to put up with Harry being around but he still did not want to be friends.

"Harry, what's the letter?" Asked Gabrielle.

"I don't know but it's not a howler so it doesn't have to be opened."

"Well, I want to know what it is so could you please open it?" Asked Gabrielle.

"Okay, I'll open it."

__

Harry,

I thought I would let you know that your egg is about to hatch. A new hatchling will trust whomever it sees first so I suggest you get down here.

Charlie

"Cripes!" Said Harry.

"What is it?" Asked a few people around him.

"My egg is about to hatch." Harry shot out of his seat and his friends followed. He quickly ran up to the teacher's table and grabbed Fleur.

"What is it Harry?" She asked as she was being torn out of her seat.

"Something you won't want to miss." There were four of them heading down to Hagrid's hut; Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Fleur. Godric had decided to stay behind and Gabrielle wanted to stay with him. The group made it down to the hut in record time.

"Just in time, it's about to break through." Said Charlie.

Harry once again grabbed Fleur by the arm and placed her squarely in front of the egg.

"Harry, what's going on?"

"Just sit right there and don't move." He told her.

Fleur was confused but decided that it would probably be best not to move. The others sat around her as the shell began to crack. Slowly the beak of the magical bird broke through into the world. Just as Harry had thought, it was an ugly bird at birth. It finally made it through the egg and it had its eyes set on Fleur.

"Congratulations, you're a mother." Said Harry.

"What?" Said a surprised Fleur.

"The Phoenix saw you first so you are now its mother. Consider this an early Christmas present."

"I don't understand, it was your egg Harry."

"And now it is your Phoenix Fleur. I already have a bird and I want you to have this one. Besides, soon I'll be able to transform into a Phoenix myself."

"I don't know what to say."

"Just say thank you."

"Thank you." Fleur then got up and gave Harry a hug. Hermione gave Ron a smile at what they just witnessed. 

"What does she have to do to take care of the bird?" Asked Ron of his brother.

"The best thing right now is for it to go up and live with Fawkes for a while. You'll still have to go up and feed it Fleur. I'm sure Dumbledore won't mind the company when you're up there."

"I'll be up there every day."

As they were talking about Dumbledore Harry began to hear something. It started out really faint but soon it was audible. It wasn't a sound that any other person in the hut could hear, rather it was a voice in his head.

__

Harry, Harry, Harry

Yes?

Ah, there you are my boy. Are you out of the castle?

Yes, I'm down at Hagrid's hut.

That's why it took so long to find you. I need to talk with you right away.

Sure, I'll be right up.

Great, the password is Angel Tits

Err, alright.

"Hey guys, I gotta go."

"Where are you going Harry?" Asked Hermione.

"Dumbledore needs to see me about something."

"How do you know he needs to see you?" Asked Fleur.

"I'll explain later, bye." Harry rushed out of the hut and made his way back up to the castle.

"Angel Tits." The door to Dumbledore's office opened and Harry made his way up.

"You needed to see me?"

"I need you to leave the castle this break."

"What? Why?"

"Harry, did you know that you've been receiving death threats?"

"I only received the one and I assumed it was from Avery."

"Actually, you've been receiving a few a day but I've just been intercepting them."

"Why?"

"I wanted you to be in a good mood, a daily death threat really hampers a persons mood. Don't worry though, I've also been getting them."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"No, but I hoped it would make you feel like you aren't alone."

"Fine, I get to die with someone. Now explain to me why I have to leave. I thought this place was my home."

"It is your home, and you don't have to leave for the entire time. I just want to make it seem that you have left for the break so the negative attention you are receiving is diverted away from the school. After it is assumed that you are gone then you can return here and stay in the bunker with Sirius."

"Aren't the two of us enough to protect the castle?"

"No, and as it is I will be gone for most of break."

"Why? Where are you going?"

"These are terrible times Harry and I have other duties. Voldemort is steadily gaining more power and we are going to need all the help we can get."

Harry left Dumbledore's office a little confused. He was hoping that he could have an enjoyable Christmas with his friends and Sirius but it looked like he would have to remain hidden. Oh well, at least Ron and Hermione could visit him using the invisibility cloak.

"What do you mean you're not going to be here for Christmas?" Asked Harry. He had just told Ron and Hermione about what happened up at Dumbledore's.

"Well, Hermione's parents asked me to come to their place over break. Besides, Fred and George are going to be gone."

"Where are they going to be?"

"They are flying to meet the head of Zonkos. I guess their corporate offices are down in Australia."

"I thought they were based out of London. And why are they going down there?"

"I guess the owner wanted the warmer weather and they are flying there because they sent some stuff to the offices. The head honcho seemed to be impressed with their work."

"I guess I should be happy but you know what? That means I'm alone for the first time since coming to Hogwarts. I might as well go and visit the Dursley's."

"Oh Harry, you're over exaggerating." Said Hermione. "You have Fleur, Gabrielle, and Sirius."

"Correction, I have Sirius. Fleur and Gabrielle will most likely be going home. And I guess you're right, I should spend some more time with Sirius. This will be the first time we can hang out for any good length of time."

"Yeah, so you can thank me later." Said Ron.

"See if you get a gift from me Ron." Said Harry.

"Hey, you already gave me mine. Sucker."

Soon the time to board the train for home had come. The Slytherins were all brought down to the station before anyone else. They were given the last few cars of the train and each car had its own teacher acting as a guard. There would be no repeat of the initial trip from London.

Harry went through all of the motions as if he would be heading somewhere for a great length of time. As he was boarding the train he made sure that all of the Slytherins could see that he was leaving the castle. He knew that if any plan to attack was in the works it would have to change. This was the first year that Harry would be leaving for break, at least boarding the train and returning to London.

Harry got into a car with Ron, Gabrielle and Godric. Hermione was once again up in the Prefects car while Fleur was on patrol. Once again, Godric was just sitting there staring at Harry.

"What?" Harry asked. It drove him mad when Godric stared at him.

"Nothing." Said Godric.

"Why do you keep staring at me with a look of murder?"

"Hey, I still haven't forgiven you."

"Forgiven me? For what? What have I done?"

"Nothing I guess, but I've spent my whole life hating you."

"Godric, Harry is a nice boy and he doesn't need any extra agitation." Said Gabrielle.

"Yeah, listen to your girlfriend and give the kid a break." Said Ron.

"Like you're one to talk Ron." Said Harry.

"What do you mean?"

"Please, how many times have you been angry with me for being who I am?"

"Good point, but that was ages ago."

"A year!"

"Fine, but I've forgiven you."

"Wow, what compassion. You've forgiven me for being who I am."

"Harry, are you looking for a fight or something."

Gabrielle and Godric were staring at Ron and Harry in disbelief. They were the best of friends yet they appeared to be fighting. Godric did feel a little bad for starting the argument.

"Sorry, I'm just a little pissed about the break."

"Why Harry, what do you have going on?" Asked Gabrielle.

"Well, I get to go hang out with my godfather in a secret bunker while my friends get to experience the world."

"Come on Harry, you and Sirius will have a blast." Said Ron.

"I guess, but I'm going to be confined to a small bunker. I'm going to go crazy."

"Just work on your spells and transformations. You'll get through it."

Godric was looking at them with a confused expression. Who was Sirius and what was that about transformations? He thought it best not to ask. He was very proud of himself for being in the same compartment as Harry Potter. A few months ago he would be ripping Harry apart but Gabrielle had calmed him.

The rest of the trip occurred without consequence. Harry brought his light travel bag off the train and said his goodbyes to his friends. The last thing he saw before entering the car that Dumbledore had arranged was Gabrielle and Fleur talking to their parents. He thought about going over and talking to them but he remembered that Dumbledore said it was best to get out of there as soon as possible. Not wanting to be rude Harry gave a wave to the group and then got in the car.

"Where to?" Asked the driver.

"Hyde Park." Said Harry. Harry enjoyed the ride very much. It was a first time experience for Harry, he was traveling by himself in public transportation. He watched the people go by on the street as the radio in the cab was blasting out some Oasis. They finally arrived at their destination.

"How much do I owe you?" Asked Harry.

"It was already paid for."

"Thanks."

"No problem, have a good day." The cab then drove off.

Harry made his way into a building and headed for the public toilet. Once he made his way into a stall he disapparated back to Hogsmeade. Snow was falling in the small village and Harry could feel the icy wind on his skin. Heading behind a building he became invisible and made his way up to the school grounds. As the snow began to fall more heavily Harry knew he had to run. If anyone saw an invisible set of feet moving across the grounds his cover would be blown.

Harry made it into Sirius' bunker and shook off the snow. He found that Sirius was sitting before a roaring fire reading a current events book for wizards.

"I'm amazed at the amount of stuff I missed." Said Sirius.

"Hey, you think you missed out? I spent nearly all of my life not knowing about this world."

"I know Harry and not a day goes by that I'm not sorry about that. So, how was the train ride?"

"Fine, got into it with Ron a little bit but it was no big deal."

"What was it about?"

"Nothing really, I was just a little pissed that everyone was leaving me. Well, at least I've got you."

"Only for a couple days, I have to leave soon."

"Why?"

"I have some things I have to do and that's all I'm going to tell you."

"Great." Said Harry sarcastically. "When are you going to be back?"

"Not sure, probably not for a few weeks. I'm sorry to do this to you Harry but I'm the only one that can do it."

"But you can't tell me what IT is?"

"Afraid not, it's probably best that you don't know."

"So, what am I supposed to do when I'm confined to this bunker by myself?"

"Do what I do, read. Work on your magical transformations, develop new potions, do whatever you want. This is your place for the break Harry."

"Great, a bachelor pad where you can't bring any women."

"Hey, don't rub it in."

"Is that where you're going, to go get a little lovin'?"

"Very funny." Sirius ran over and put Harry in a headlock. "You better behave yourself when I'm gone. If I find out that you went anywhere I'll get Dumbledore to lock you in here for your own safety."

"You can count on me, I won't go anywhere."

Harry and Sirius enjoyed their time together for the first few days of break. Sirius would transform into his animal form and Harry would transform into a dog as well. They would then tug at a piece of rope to see who was the strongest. Harry would usually lose the battle of strength but would then change into a larger creature to intimidate Sirius. Unfortunately, the plan never worked on Sirius because he knew Harry was joking.

A few days passed and soon there was a knock at the door. Harry knew that only a few people had knowledge about the invisible cabin so he wasn't surprised to see Mrs. Figg outside. However, he was surprised to see that she was fully visible and on a broomstick.

"Aren't you afraid someone will see you?" Asked Harry.

"Oh heavens no. All of the students that remained are at Hogsmeade for the day. I'm only riding the broomstick to hide my travels. Besides, I'm here to pick up Sirius."

"You're going too?"

"Yes, and we have to leave right now. There may be people coming back prematurely and we don't want to be seen."

Sirius came from behind Harry with travel pack and Harry's broomstick. "You don't mind do you Harry?"

"It's fine, not like I'm going to be needing it anyways."

"Great, I'll see you in a few weeks. Work on those transformations and no sneaking out. I have ways of monitoring you and don't you forget it." Sirius then gave Harry a hug and hoped on the broomstick. He and Mrs. Figg flew off towards the south and Harry went back into the cabin.

Harry spent much of the day working on transforming into a Billywig. He thought he could have some fun transforming into one and stinging his friends. 

He had just finished preparing his dinner with a simple spell when there was a knock at the door. Harry knew that everyone that had knowledge of the bunker were not at Hogwarts. Luckily, Harry knew about the security defenses around the bunker. The bunker was equipped with sensors that could even detect invisible cloaks, that is how Sirius knew Harry was coming the first time he visited.

Harry looked through the security monitor and his jaw nearly dropped. Standing in the front way was Fleur Delacour. 


End file.
